No lessons learnt from 2015 floods: 24-hour rain brings Chennai to its knees

The Northeast monsoon, which arrived in Tamil Nadu on Monday, brought life to a standstill in Chennai and other neighbouring districts over the next 24 hours.

Low-lying areas in Chennai were the worst hit as water entered many houses. People in Chennai and neighbouring districts such as Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur had to wade through knee-deep water to reach their destination.

According to the meteorological department (MET), 21 places in Tamil Nadu received heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours and 16 places recorded very heavy rains. Sirkazhi, a town in Nagapattinam district, recorded maximum rainfall at 31 cm. Meenambakkam, a district neighbouring Chennai, received 17 cm rain between 8.30 pm Monday and 5.30 am Tuesday.

The MET has forecast heavy rainfall in few places in north coastal region and very heavy rainfall in south coastal region over the next 24 hours. The MET department has warned of heavy rains in the next few days. S Balachandran, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, said that the Northeast monsoon is vigorous in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The 24-hour rainfall was enough to bring low-lying areas in Chennai like Madipakkam, Velachery, Mudichur and Sunnambu Kolathur to their knees. Residents complained that government has failed to learn the lessons from the 2015 floods.  

Residents of Sunnambu Kolathur staged a protest against civic authorities as water entered their homes and flooded streets. Shivraj, a resident said, "We have been regularly complaining to the authorities about lack of storm water drains and to ensure the area doesn't get flooded. The monsoon has just set in, and see our condition. What if it rains harder in the days to come." Another resident, Nawaz said, "Government doesn't care about us, only when elections come do they remember us."

The government,



however, maintained that it has done its best. Tamil Nadu minister D Jayakumar, after a review meeting with various officials and ministers, said: "We have taken all the measures which were taken by our Amma. That is enough for today. Ninety-eight per cent of the problem is settled, may be in one or two places the condition is like what you have indicated. We have the capacity (to solve the problem) similar to foreign countries. Whatever the problem is, our officials will settle it. You can come with us one day, we can show that 95 per cent work is over".  

Jayakumar's son Jayavaradhan, South Chennai MP, was surrounded by angry residents when he went to inspect monsoon-affected areas in the city. The MP claimed there was less water-logging this year compared to previous year which infuriated residents of affected areas who in turn complained about the terrible condition of roads following the rains. "For the last three months, the government has been working towards avoiding floods during monsoon," Jayavaradhan said while trying to pacify angry residents.

Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has hit out at the ruling AIADMK government for lack of monsoon preparedness. DMK spokesperson Manu Sundaram told India Today, "Each week, the state government seems to be facing a new crisis. After just 12 hours of rains, Chennai city has brought back unhappy memories of 2015 floods. The government is ill-prepared and ill-equipped to handle another monsoon. Chennai and its residents may once again have to rise up to save each other."  

Chennai civic authorities claimed they have been pumping out water regularly and storm water drains were built in several low-lying areas. Officials said helplines and emergency relief centres have been set up. The Chennai corporation's helpline numbers are: 1913, 25367823, 25384965, 25383694, 25619206.