Chennai rains: 46 mm rain in 24 hrs; 1,500 helpline calls – how Chennai spent time since Oct 14 morning

CHENNAI: As the city braces for the full fury of the early monsoon rain that was accentuated by a low-pressure area, which is feared to bring more than 204 mm rain in 24 hours in the next couple of days, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin inspected the arrangements at the State Emergency Operations Centre on Tuesday morning.

Assuring the public that the government has taken all steps, he said 931 relief camps, including 300 in Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), are ready to accommodate the people from low-lying areas.

Asserting that the impact of the rain has not been worse so far, Udhayanidhi said, “From 6 am Monday to 6 am Tuesday, Chennai Corporation received 4.6 cm of rainfall. Sholinganallur and Teynampet received the maximum, 6.1 cm, while the least was Tondiarpet (2.8 cm) and Puzhal (3cm).”

Eight trees were uprooted and one has been cleared so far, the deputy CM said, adding that the remaining seven would be cleared in the next 1.5 hours.

GCC readies 300 relief camps in Chennai; control centre receives 1,500 calls

About 300 relief centres with capacity to hold up to 1,000 people each are ready, added Udhayanidhi, who was accompanied by Revenue Minister KKSSR Ramachandran and Health Minister Ma Subramanian. These camps have adequate stock of food, biscuits, milk packets, and water bottles, he said.

Pointing out that about 35 common kitchens have been kept ready and traffic was moving smoothly in 20 of the 22 subways in Chennai, Udhayanidhi said Ganesapuram and Perambur subways have been closed temporarily while the stagnant water is being pumped out of them.

“If the rain stops for an hour and a half, the two subways will also be cleared. Efforts are on to pump water from more than 300 areas suffering water stagnation,” he said, claiming that no power outage was witnessed in any area in the last 24 hours.

Noting that the emergency control centre in Greater Chennai Corporation received 1,500 calls in the last 24 hours, he said that 600 of them have already been resolved so far.

931 relief camps ready across Tamil Nadu

Sivaganga and Virudhunagar received the maximum rainfall in the State in the last 24 hours at 13.5 cm and 7 cm, respectively, the deputy CM said. “So far, the situation is under control there. SDRF and NDRF teams have set up 26 stations in the district adjoining Chennai. So far, 24 teams have reached Chennai and other districts. About 89 boats have been deployed in Chennai, while 130 are there in other districts. As many as 631 relief camps are ready in Chennai’s adjoining districts. In total, 931 camps are ready in Tamil Nadu.”

65,000 volunteers ready to move to Chennai for assistance

Around 13,000 volunteers have already been identified in Chennai, while there are 65,000 volunteers who have been kept ready across Tamil Nadu. “If necessary, they will be mobilised and brought to Chennai,” he added.

On whether the people in low-lying areas were moved to relief camps, Udhayanidhi said, “All relief camps are ready. Right now, people are not willing to move because the impact of the rain has not been so bad at the moment. If the rain intensifies tonight, we will shift people to relief camps. All facilities are ready for them at the relief camps.”

Reacting to a specific query on telecom services in the city, Commissioner of Revenue Administration Rajesh Lakhoni said the representatives of telecom companies were available at the State Emergency Operations Centre. “If mobile phone towers do not work in any locality, they will be intimated. And they coordinate from here. So far, we did not face any problem of mobile phone towers not working like it happened last time,” he added.

(With Online Desk inputs)