There is no relief in sight for Chennai, where heavy rainfall has disrupted normal life and put thousands into misery.

The India Meteorological Department has predicted more rains in Tamil Nadu, particularly in the capital city and Puducherry, in the next four days.

The MeT department has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu, particularly in the northern districts of Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram, The Hindu reported.

"The trough of low pressure now lies over Southwest Bay adjoining Sri Lanka off Tamil Nadu," Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) officials told PTI.

Chennai remained cut off from the rest of the state for the second day on Wednesday in athe bsence of road, rail and air traffic. The flooded airport cannot be opened before Sunday, authorities have said. The Rajali naval air station at Arakkonam, 70 km west of Chennai, will now function as a makeshift airport. An Air India test flight from Hyderabad landed there successfully on Wednesday evening, NDTV reported. 

“A group in Bangalore is collecting aides, including food supplies, containers, paper cups, plates, rain coats and umbrellas, for the people who are hit by Chennai floods. The group has invited volunteers to pick up aides, which will then be taken to Chennai by one Ram Kashyap.”
 

Chennai was recovering from last week's heavy downpour and normal life was getting back on track when torrential rainfall, said to be the heaviest in over 100 years, lashed the city on Tuesday, flooding the Tamil Nadu capital and its airport.

The torrential rain also wreaked havoc on Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Cuddalore.

Several people were stuck in Chennai airport as all flights were cancelled for the rest of the day on Tuesday due to flooding in the runway. 

The Tamil Nadu government said 72,119 people were now housed in relief camps set up in the rain-affected Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram and Chennai districts, according to IANS. The affected people have been housed in 432 relief camps set up in the three districts.

The government said relief measures were being taken on war footing and 329,919 food packets have been distributed to the flood-affected people in these three districts. There was 24 cm rainfall in Thiruvallur district till Wednesday morning, while it was 34 cm in Kanchipuram and 28 cm in Chennai. Breaches in lakes in these districts were being plugged.  

Chennai received 49 cm of rain over the last 24 hours. Chembarambakkam, where the reservoir released about 25,000 cusecs of water into Adyar river, received 47 cm of rains. The Saidapet bridge over the Adyar river, which runs through the city, was closed to traffic as water spilled onto the road, NDTV said.

Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa will undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas on Thursday. She had planned to undertake the aerial survey on Wednesday but the plan was postponed due to the inclement weather and because the helicopter could not take off.

LIVE Updates:

4:47 pm: More than 150 people evacuated by ICG, 23 personnel and two officers in four boats engaged in rescue operations

4:22 pm: The rainfall is likely to continue for about a week, but situation critical for the next 48 hours: L S Rathore, IMD DG

4:06 pm: Due to #ChennaiFloods, there will be no charges on BSNL bills for one week in Chennai starting today: RS Prasad, Telecom Minister

3:42 pm: NDRF ready to take off but can't reach affected areas, air drop has to be started for relief material: Sitaram Yechury in RS

3:21 pm: Urban planners must take measures for proper drainage system, MeT has predicted heavy rainfall in next 24 hours: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh

3:07 pm:  A group in Bangalore is collecting aides, including food supplies, containers, paper cups, plates, rain coats and umbrellas, for the people who are hit by Chennai floods. The group has invited volunteers to pick up aides, which will then be taken to Chennai by one Ram Kashyap.

"I plan to shuttle between ‪#‎Bangalore‬ and ‪#‎Chennai‬ during the next few days on my car with food (Rice and Sambar) in large containers," he wrote in a Facebook post.

2:54 pm: We're taking measures to provide drinking water &other basic facilities to passengers stranded in trains &stations: Anil Saxena

2:50 pm: We had to cancel 23 trains,11 were diverted and 8 trains were partially cancelled due to heavy rains: Anil Saxena, Railway PRO

We advise passengers to check status of their trains before embarking on a journey- Saxena

1:50: Situation is worrying in Tamil Nadu and parts of AP,alternate arrangements being made-Suresh Prabhu,Railway Minister

12:53 pm: Chennai airport is totally waterlogged, about 700 passengers stuck at the airport-Mahesh Sharma,MoS,Civil Aviation

12:31 pm: At least 100 students and staff is stranded in MGR School, Chennai. There is no power and food in the school.

12:29 pm: IMD director says Tamil Nadu will witness rainfall for at least a week.

12:27 pm:  Water level in several areas in Chennai is rising. 

Not enough space for rain water to drain out. Situation in next 24 hours will worsen: IMD director. 

12:25 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa and assures all necessary help: Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

12:23 pm: More heavy rain expected till tomorrow in TN, after which the intensity will decrease but rainfall will continue: Director, India Met Dept

12:16 pm: Sea gets rough, incessant rain in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh.

12:02 pm: With civil communication & mobile towers out of commnctn in Chennai, Army is resorting to radio communication for coordinating rescue ops. 

While flood rescue ops are in progress more Army columns are being brought in to augment rescue efforts

12:01 pm: Army rescue columns reach out to victims of floods in Chennai, succeeded in rescuing ovr 50 civilians to safety in Gudvancheri and Mudichur.

12 pm:

11:38 am: Chennai Airport is in a low-lying area,with rainfall likely to continue, its not in a good situation-LS Rathore,MeT Dept

11:35 am: Navy Helpline 044-25394240 promulgated and manned 24x7.

11:34 am: Shelter for housing 100 needy personnel kept ready at INS Adyar. Medical team kept standby for deputing at short notice.

11:30 am: INS Airawat equipped with 5 Jamini boats, 20 divers, lot to relief material, will reach Chennai today late eve or tomorrow morning: CG Raju

11:25 am: INS Airawat departs Vizag to Chennai for rescue ops in flood affected area: CG Raju, Navy PRO (Vizag) to ANI

11:20 am: Chennai airport,Tambaram and Arakkonam air bases flooded, fixed wing aircraft will land closest to Tirupathi: IAF #chennairains

(Source: ANI tweets)

Airport aviation authority says Chennai airport will remain shut till 6.00am tomorrow #ChennaiFloods

— BBC India (@BBCIndia) December 2, 2015

People were seen wading through the neck-deep flood waters, even as the Army, Navy and NDRF personnel were rescuing them to safer places.

The state government has deployed personnel of the State Disaster Response Force, the Fire and Rescue Service personnel, Coastal Security Group in all the flood-affected regions.

The forecast of more showers in the coming days have forced the state authorities to shut down schools and colleges. Bus services were also disrupted and the Southern Railways had to cancel 12 trains, while diverting 15 more.

The state government has postponed the half-yearly examinations of all state board schools. The state board examinations were scheduled to begin on 7 December.

The condition of the roads has also deteriorated as many of them caved in due to heavy rainfall. Puducherry and its suburbs received heavy rainfall since Tuesday night to 8:30 am on Wednesday morning. It recorded 15.2 cm rain in the last 24 hours, PTI reported.

Meanwhile, a flood alert has been issued along the banks of Adyar river as excess water from the Chembarambakkam reservoir have been released in the river, IANS reported.

So far, 188 people have lost their lives in the floods in the four districts of Chennai, Kanchipuram, Cuddalore and Thiruvallur.

As Tamil Nadu braces for more showers in the next four days, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has instructed that the police, fire and rescue, National and State Disaster Forces and Coast Guard be kept ready in case people from flood-hit regions are required to be evacuated.

"I have ordered officials to take precautionary measures before releasing surplus waters from reservoirs and evacuate people living in low-lying areas," she said.

Chennai Corporation helpline numbers:

Tree fall, Waterlogging 1913
Sewage overflow 45674567, 22200335
State Emergency 1070
District Emergency 1077
Electricity 1912
Fire & Rescue - 101
  • Tiruvottiyur – 9445190001
  • Manali – 9445190002
  • Madhavaram – 9445190003
  • Tondiarpet – 9445190004
  • Royapuram – 9445190005
  • Thiru Vi Ka Nagar â€“ 9445190006
  • Ambattur – 9445190007
  • Annanagar – 9445190008
  • Teynampet – 9445190009
  • Kodambakkam – 9445190010
  • Valasaravakkam – 9445190011
  • Alandur – 9445190012
  • Adyar – 9445190013
  • Perungudi – 9445190014
  • Sholinganallur – 9445190015
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