Chennai is under deluge. It has had a historic rainfall of 119.73 cm & mounting. The heavy rains have resulted in waters from dams being released, lakes being breached, people being evacuated and rescue teams working round the clock to control the situation. But, the ordeal is not over even though weather forecasters say the receding has started. Karthik Raman talks of the day after & a flood of problems
For years, Chennai’s residents had been praying for heavy rains but their prayers went unanswered. This November, however, the Rain Gods finally heard the cry and showered their blessings — but how! The city has rainfall as never before with residents praying for “never again.” It has broken a 100-year-old record of of 108.8 cm recorded way back in 1918.
The downpour which began a week before Diwali not only washed out the Festival of lights, but has crippled Chennai, causing extensive damage to life and property. The financial loss may exceed `15,000 crore, an industry body said while the State Government put the total at a whopping `8,481 crore.
The Government said 72,119 people were housed in 432 relief camps, but thousands of passengers were still stranded at the Chennai airport and railway stations, both of which discontinued services. Fishermen, particularly along the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, have been warned of strong surface winds with speed reaching 45-55 KMPH and advised against venturing into the sea.
Transportation — both land and air — had to be suspended. Buses were diverted and trains had a stop-start time. Flights were cancelled till December 5, but services provisionally resumed on Saturday after the skies opened up for a bit. Vikram Kapur, Chennai Corporation commissioner, tells you that over 60,000 people are staying in relief centres.
“There are over 97 relief centres spread across the city, where 62,000 people are staying. Food is given to them three times a day. On Thursday afternoon alone, two lakh food packets was distributed. The packets are not just given to people in relief centres but also to those trapped in their homes. There are quite a few in the city who are trapped in their houses and unable to come out due to the water stagnation,” he says.
At present the relief operations are being carried out near three major rivers in Chennai — Cooum, Adyar and Kosasthalaiyar or the Buckingham Canal. People living in these regions are being evacuated and water is being pumped out as much as possible. But the rain-hit Capital has turned into a virtual island and the rescue work is being carried out by 95 boats that have been pressed into service. Besides, five National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and Army personnel along with policemen and State Disaster Force team, fire and rescue teams have also been pressed into service to tackle the situation and expedite rescue operations.
While Kapur puts the death toll at 15 in the city, there are reports that over 280 people have so far died with some cases of snakebites also being received from various parts of the city. Though the last thing that Chennai wants is to the deal with an epidemic and the authorities are taking necessary steps to prevent the situation, it appears that this is inevitable.
“We have to avoid epidemic outbreaks at all cost. In all the 200 wards of the city medical camps, 20,000 people are being treated daily, approximately 7 lakh so far,” Kapur says.
But the real work for the corporation commissioner will begin once downpour ends. The roads, and damaged bridges, will need to be repaired on priority to ensure that no one is cut off. This is a Herculean task that will take months. Despite the work being carried out, activists blame the lack of precautionary measures for the deluge. Social activist SP Udayakumar woes the lack of proper planning in the State.
“Storm drain technology has been ignored. Had it been in place, the road water would have directly flown into reservoirs. We must have more provisions to drain the water, especially in low lying areas. The disaster management system is inefficient. We only react after something happens, rather than taking precautionary measures,” Udayakumar says.
With Kapur denying these allegations and the blame game continuing, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more downpours in coming days. BP Yadav, head weather forecaster at IMD, in Delhi, says that while there has been a let-up with Saturday recording only 1 cm of rain, on Sunday, heavy rainfall is expected. Yadav tells you that the unprecedented deluge in Chennai can’t be attributed to climatic change nor one can say it is a natural calamity. “It is difficult to connect them both,” Yadav says.
However, Dr DS Pai, scientist and head, lRF division, National Climate Centre in Pune, talks of a combination of climatic change and natural calamity. “We cannot conclusively say it is due to climate change, but it can be its side effect,” Pai tells you. He also blames the El Nino effect for the present situation.
“This doesn’t always bear out because there’s scant research on this aspect. But, normally during El Nino years, such systems in the Bay of Bengal have a typical feature of moving westward, while in other years, they recurve,” he explains.
Usually, when El Nino happens, it moves towards Andhra Pradesh or Odisha, but that wasn’t the case this time. This time, it is helping in keeping the disturbances in Tamil Nadu.
Wanton urbanisation is another reason for Chennai’s present predicament as a result of which water has stagnated instead of mixing with sea or filtrating. But Pai has some good news for the residents. “After December 15, the rainfall level might go down and it will move towards the southern-western direction,” he predicts.
Experts like Dr S Kalyanaraman of Saraswathi Research Centre and Prof S Vincent of loyola College attribute the unprecedented catastrophe in Chennai to the damaged storm water drains in the metropolis. “Chennai could not withstand the surplus water released from the overflowing water reservoirs in the city. The carrying capacity of Adyar and Cooum rivers and the Buckingham canal were no match for the surplus,” Kalyanaraman said. Prof Vincent says, had the authorities maintained the storm water drains, this situation would not have arisen.
“We had alerted the Government in 2009 about the alarming situation of storm water drainages,” asserts Vincent, who once headed the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre.
Kalyanaraman, who has done more than two decades of research on rivers, pointed out that the only solution to save Tamil Nadu and other south Indian States from floods and drought is by inter linking the peninsular Indian rivers as well as the water reservoirs in the State.
Whatever the reason for the deluge, it is the common man who is suffering. Vinoth Murali, a resident of Korattur, is one such unfortunate victim. He got married only a year back and is now surrounded by damaged household appliances, furniture and furnishing. “It was not just the rain water but drainage water that entered our homes,” he tells you.
There are many others like Vinoth who have been not so lucky. Take the case of patients who gasped to death at an ICU due to power failure, or hundreds of others who got swept away.
A resident who didn’t want to be named tells you that just before the heavens opened up, all he was worried about was the increment that was due to him. Drawing a salary of `18 lakh per annum, this IT man was looking at a 15 per cent hike. “Once the rains started and we got stuck on our first floor home, the only thing I wanted was some drinking water and food,” the 31 year-old says.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi who took stock of the situation in the rain-hit State on Thursday, discussed the situation with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. He announced a `1,000 crore interim relief, adding up to the `939.63 crore provided in November to tackle the initial heavy downpour during November.
The heavy rains not just affected the people living in Chennai, but also those residing in Cuddalore, another coastal area in Tamil Nadu. District collector Suresh Kumar said the priority was to identify the low-lying areas in the district and take the adequate measures in those places to prevent further losses.
“Over 362 villages have been identified in low-lying areas. We have kept additional rice and fuel supply if the situation doesn’t ease,” Kumar says.
Boat facility is also available in these areas and over 10 boats are continuing with rescue operations with NDRF team and zonal officers in place to monitor the situation. The authorities are keeping an eye on the residents who are living near the main lakes of Veeranam and Perumal.
But this is not the first time that Cuddalore has faced calamity. In 2005, there was a similar situation and hence it has been easy for the administration here to carry out work in an organised manner.
“Because of the past, we took precautionary measures. When we were informed about the possible rain, we decreased the levels of the dam in advance, ensuring that they do not get filled,” Kumar explained, adding that he is looking at a three-step strategy to bring the situation back to normal once the rain stops.
“The immediate one is to prevent human loss. The temporary thing is to fix the road damage and the permanent one is to look at the reasons for these water problems and take steps to ensure it does not happen again,” Kumar says.
Public support pays dividends