Fleet Tanker INS Shakti is also about to reach Chennai with massive relief materials, medical supplies.

Veteran actor Manoj Kumar has been admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben hospital. 

"We have been distributing ready-to-eat food packets to Chennai floods victims, each packet weighing 300 gm." Ilayaraza, a scientist at DFRL, said.

According to reports, the Rajaji Naval base 70 km off Chennai may become the makeshift domestic airport in order to evacuate civilians.

According to reports, the Chennai Airport is to remain shut at least till Sunday, December 6.

The Union cabinet has approved the budget of 1,411.80 crore to be incurred b/w 2015-16 and 2018-19 for setting up and operationalisation of six new IITs.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is likely to visit Pakistan next week, say reports. She is likely to attend a 27-nation meeting in Islamabad for a December 8 multilateral meeting on Afghanistan.


Pakistan extended a formal invitation to Swaraj three weeks ago for the ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul process -- a 14-nation initiative dedicated to regional cooperation in Afghanistan. 

Pregnant lady in labor pain.
L17, Bharathi Dasan Colony.
KK Nagar.
@TwitterIndia


Patients stranded in flooded hospitals, dead bodies waiting for burial in homes cut off by flood waters, women delivering babies without medical help... just some of the horrors visited upon Chennai.

NDTV reports that a number of patients and their relatives have been left stranded at Chennai's MIOT hospital (Madras Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology ) in Porur after the doctors and nurses apparently fled to safety, abandoning them in the flooded hospital.

The city has been deluged since last evening after torrential rains, said to be the worst in nearly 100 years.

Vasundra, whose husband is a patient in the hospital, told NDTV that there is no food, water, or electricity in the hospital, which has been flooded since last night.

This morning, as the waters receded a little, the staff apparently left. "We cannot find anyone in the hospital... There is nobody to help us out or give us any aid or information," she said.

In absence of electricity, the cellphones of most people are out of battery, and they were cut off from the outside world as the televisions were not working. They have been "unable to even call for help through the helpline numbers which have been flashing on television," Vasundra said.  

It is not yet known how many of the hospital's 500 beds are full.

The Hindu reports that some hospitals on Tuesday allowed staff to leave early to get home safe, while at others, employees found it difficult to come in to work as their houses were flooded.


The Hindu reports that at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, some staff members were allowed to leave early as rain battered the city throughout the day.


However, emergency services were fully staffed, a senior official said. Some doctors at Global Hospitals too, left a little early, as did non-essential staff at Apollo Hospitals. At Government Kilpauk Medical College, which is waterlogged, motors are operating to pump water out, said dean Narayana Babu.


Emergency Toll Free Number: 1910, State Emergency: 1070, District Emergency: 1077, Electricity:1912, Fire & Rescue: 101, Ambulance: 108, Tree fall, waterlogging - 1913, Sewage overflow - 45674567, 22200335

Helpline Numbers: Tiruvottiyur : 09445190001, Manali: 09445190002; Madhavaram: 9445190003, Ambattur: 9445190007; Tondiarpet: 9445190004, Royapuram: 9445190005; Annanagar: 9445190008, Teynampet: 9445190009, Alandur: 9445190012, Adyar: 9445190013,Perungudi: 9445190014

Flood Control Room: 28593990, 044-28410577,9445869843/47


Pic: A patient being carried to safety. 

With torrential rains in Chennai disrupting normal life, Indian environment experts attending the Paris climate change summit today said the downpour in the city was an outcome of global warming.

"We are now experiencing the full blown impact of climate change. The extreme rainfall that Chennai is experiencing is a direct outcome of our ever-warming planet," said Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General of Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).


"The global average temperature has increased by less than 1 degrees. Think what will happen at 2 degree temperature increase," he said.


Torrential rains have pounded several parts of Chennai and its suburbs along with Puducherry, triggering a deluge that has completely disrupted normal life as army was deployed in two suburban areas to undertake rescue on a war-footing.


Harjeet Singh of Action Aid India, said, "Climate change has always been a contributing factor. We cannot say that it is 100 per cent because of climate change. Here we are talking about the scale of destruction and such rains which have happened after 100 years."


"If we look at the disasters in the last five years, from Kashmir to Uttarkahand, if we see the trend, it becomes clear that it is because of climate change," he said.

Invited? Ayaz Memon is...

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar spent an hour in the Central Hall of Parliament before he met Prime Minister Modi. It's convention that CMs meeting the PM are asked to spend time inside Central Hall by MPS from his state. Khattar was also seen with Akali Dal and Samajwadi Party MPs. Khattar recollected that it was his second visit to Central Hall today -- the first on the day Narendra Modi got elected as Leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party.

Union Cabinet Meeting begins in Parliament.

Auto majors Hyundai, Ford and Renault have temporarily suspended operations at their plants in Chennai due to floods.

Saidapet bridge in Chennai has been submerged in flood waters. The picture was tweeted by @InfoMumbai 

Shares of companies with exposure to Chennai came under selling pressure, falling as much as 6.4 per cent today, as incessant heavy rains there and other parts of Tamil Nadu hit their operations. A large number of companies across sectors such as Infosys, TVS Motor, Madras Fertilizers and Natco saw their stocks decline by as much as 6 per cent. Shares of TVS Motor Company plunged 4.87 per cent to Rs 289.20 on BSE.

Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav, who is the deputy CM of Bihar tweeted to say: @yadavtejashwi On humanitarian grounds hv decided to donate my 1st month's salary to relief fund for Chennai floods.

What will be the fate of the GST? Will it be passed? Why should government raids on few companies linked to P Chidambaram's son affect the GST?

Those are the questions plaguing MPs across all parties. BJP MPs of late have been feeling that Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is not keen to get the GST passed in the winter session. There will be a lull in activity in Congress circles till Sunday, say party MPs, which is when Rahul should be back from the US.

The 49 AIADMK MPs in both houses of Parliament impressed upon the BJP government that a discussion on the floods in Tamil Nadu was necessary. It also gave 26 AIADMK MPs the opportunity to talk about their constituencies.


A keen observer noted that the AIADMK MPs' speeches could have almost been approved by the Tamil Nadu chief minister-- except for the reference to the MPs' parliament constituencies -- the content, tone and tenor of speech is almost like that of Jayalalithaa's appeal to the PM to release funds for the state reeling under floods.

The deluge in Chennai has hit operations of IT companies -- one of the leading IT destinations in the country. But firms say that they have invoked alternative measures to ensure there is no impact on critical services.


Most of the offices in the city, including that of IT companies, remained closed today due to heavy rains with leading Indian firm Infosys deciding to remain closed tomorrow as well due to flooding at its premises.


"In light of the rains and flooding in Chennai, Infosys campuses in the city were closed on December 2 and we have also declared a holiday on December 3. Our teams in Chennai have been working with local authorities to get employees stranded across the city to return home safely," Infosys spokesperson said.


Infosys said that flooding at its both campuses is under control and the water levels have started receding.


"Our business continuity plans have been activated and we have taken necessary actions to ensure client commitments are met, which includes managing work from other locations," the spokesperson said.


Cognizant which has its largest office in Chennai with 60,000 people across 11 facilities in the city said that some of its employees have stayed back in office to support critical services while some have travelled to other cities to support operations.


"In view of the situation resulting from incessant rains in Chennai and the meteorological department's forecast of heavy rains, Cognizant offices in Chennai are closed today," a Cognizant spokesperson said in response to an email query.


The company said that it has invoked business continuity plan and employees have stayed back at its facilities for aiding projects that require round the clock support.


It added, all arrangements have been made for the staff including food and accommodation, both in its campuses as well as nearby hotels.


"We are providing all possible transportation support to our employees in Chennai and have advised them to take utmost safety precautions. Some of our employees have already travelled to Cognizant centres in other cities to provide support to our clients," it said.


IT major Tata Consultancy Services said that its offices in Chennai are also shut today and "the strong business continuity plans ensure that there is no impact on business." The company said that all its employee are safe and there is no water logging in any of its offices.


Airtel said that its services have also been partially disrupted due to power failure and the company is working with local authorities to restore them. "We at Airtel are relentlessly working with the local authorities to enable smooth mobile communication for Airtel customers across the city," the company said.

Pic: The flooded Infosys office

Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, has been subdued of late according to a few keen observers in the Lok Sabha. Reacting to this, Kharge jokingly stated that he is sandwiched between two maharajas -- on his right is Amrinder Singh from Punjab and on his left is Jyotiraditya Scindia from an erstwhile royal from Gwalior and he feels subdued. Moreover, when the Rahul Gandhi has been going all guns blazing in the House, it was deserving that the Congress vice-president get all the media attention. Kharge, a dissident of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has been jocular, though restrained of late, say MPs. 

Coming on the back of telecom major Airtel's special schemes to help customers in the flood-hit Chennai, telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, announced that there would be no charges on BSNL bills for one week in Chennai starting today. "We have decided that in case of non-payment of BSNL bill, there shall be no disconnection of the line. We are monitoring large towers and signal connections in Chennai."

The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) headed by Cabinet Secretary P.K. Mishra held a meeting on Wednesday to take stock of the flood situation in Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas of Andhra Pradesh. The meeting was being attended by senior Home Ministry officials as well. The Government has decided to send two C-17 aircrafts, one from Delhi and the other from Bhubhaneshwar. In all 12 teams of National Disaster Response Force will be sent to Tamil Nadu by these aircraft.


Pic: NDRF teams leave for Tamil Nadu from Delhi with relief material.

Former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy vie with each other for the most insensitive/inane tweet.



Sanjiv Bhatt IPS @sanjivbhatt tweets: Dear Chennai,
Hope the Cows are safe. Should the Centre step in to ensure their safety?
Take care,
The ever concerned Nationalist Bhakt


Subramanian Swamy ‏@Swamy39 Chennai rain water flooding is actually due to PC's Uzbekis tears at the loss of their business. Blame ED and IT for it.

Large parts of Chennai are going hungry and thirsty with a shortage of food and potable water and help unable to reach stranded citizens. While some rescue teams from the NDRF, army and navy have already reached the city, large swathes of Chennai have gone without help. In some parts, there is no electricity for nearly two days. Food packets are being distributed and many homes have been opened up those who have lost their homes. 

The floods have also pushed up prices of vegetables with potatoes going for as much as Rs 80 per kg.

The toll so far stands at 197 dead. The Indian Coast Guard ship Sarang has been deployed to Chennai with divers with food being cooked on-board for distribution among victims:


Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday has instructed the immediate release of financial assistance of another Rs 509 crore to deal with the flood situation in rain- battered Tamil Nadu. This is in addition to the Rs 940 crore sanctioned last week after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa wrote to him for funds to sustain relief work.

Today, both houses of Parliament discussed relief work in the state and assured the state government that all help would be given.  Rajya Sabha MPs also pledged to contribute an unnamed amount of their salary towards flood relief. The amount would be decided after consulting the Rajya Sabha Chairman.

Heavy rains today pounded several parts of Tamil Nadu and inundated most areas of Chennai, severely disrupting flights, train and bus services and forcing half-yearly school exams to be postponed. This, even as the Met department warns of even more rains over the next four days.


As the death toll in rain-related incidents touched 188, Chief Minister Jayalalithaaa reviewed the situation and deputed ministers to inspect the affected regions.


All flight operations at Chennai airport have been partially suspended until further review and a number of flights have been disrupted as waters inundated the runway and the tarmac. Airport officials said one flight, which had left Colombo this morning, returned. SpiceJet and Indigo tweeted saying the airfield had been closed due to flooding.

Updated report on the Chennai floods: As many as 3,500 people, including 1,500 passengers, were stranded this morning at the Chennai international airport, which has been closed for operations till next morning following flooding of the runway.

An earlier report had put the number of stranded passengers as 700.

The Airports Authority of India said all the stranded passengers are being moved out of the airport, but did not reveal the exact number of those evacuated so far.


A NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) has been issued by AAI, which manages the airport, to all air operators with regard to suspension of flight operations till 6 am tomorrow.


This notice is a communication that informs pilots about potential risks to flight safety. Around 1,500 passengers and 2,000 others working at the airport were stranded there in the morning, AAI Chairman R K Srivastava said.

Pic: Army personnel rescuing stranded people in Chennai.

Is Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on his way to the US to be by his Sonia's bedside? The Congress president is in the US for what is being termed as a routine health visit. MPs in the Central Hall of Parliament were speculating on his absence today after his blockbuster performance yesterday. Some MPs also said he was probably in the US since he was clean-shaven yesterday and was indication that he was flying out.


Sonia Gandhi is expected to return to New Delhi on December 6, in time to renew talks with the Opposition on the GST bill with the government. 

As rains lashed Chennai on Tuesday evening, Sowmya Rao, a lawyer who currently resides in Delhi was speaking to her aunt in Chennai's Perungulathur which witnessed severe flooding.


"I was feeling frustrated as all my cousins are NRIs and I don't live in Chennai, only old people and family live in Chennai. The Twitter id @atlasdanced said that we should put out a spreadsheet of people who are willing to help. I told him that I was happy to help. So, I started with the Google spreadsheet," says Sowmya.


The initial spreadsheet had details of a few people offering shelter just for that night. However, lots of people started sharing it and many people got in touch to help. The details kept adding up all night.  Read more

On this day, in 1984, the world's worst industrial disaster could place. The gas leak from the  Union Carbide plant killed more than 10000 people in Bhopal, affecting 5 lakh people permanently. A moment to remember deaths that could have been prevented. 

In Parliament today, the government countered Congress member Selja's claim that she had faced discrimination at the Dwarkadheesh temple in Gujarat because of her caste, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley citing the visitor's book in which she had lauded the "excellent" arrangements there.


Jaitley, who is also the Leader of the Rajya Sabha, brought to the House a copy of the page of the Visitor's book of the temple in which Selja had purportedly written her remarks with her signature.


He read out the comments which said, "With Lord Krishna's blessings, had a very good darshan. The upkeep and maintenance of the premises is excellent. May the Lord bless all those who are fortunate enough to come here for his blessings." The remarks with Selja's signature were written on February 22, 2013. The page also carries a stamp of the temple.


As Jaitley read out the remarks amid din created by the Congress members over the issue, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi again read out the page in the House later.


Selja, while participating in a debate on the Constitution on Monday, had alleged that she had faced discrimination at the temple when she visited there as a Union Minister some years back as she was asked about her caste.


She had alleged that "this was also a form of the Gujarat model", an apparent attack on Narendra Modi. Jaitley had immediately asked her whether she had raised the issue at that time with the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.


To this, she had refused to reply, saying, "I choose not to answer that." Congress members today stalled the House during the pre-lunch session creating uproar over the issue.

The Hindu tweets this picture of submerged suburban railway tracks in Chennai. 

In other news: In what could be a setback to the ruling BJP in crucial civic polls in Gujarat, the Congress is leading in district and taluka panchayats even as the saffron party is ahead in corporations and municipalities, as initial counting trends start pouring in from across the state.

The BJP had held almost all the local bodies earlier in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The civic elections have also assumed significance for the ruling party in the backdrop of Patel quota agitation and being the first major political battle for Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.


The Congress has surged ahead in nine district panchayats of the state, while the BJP is leading in four out of the total 31 district panchayats that went to polls. In the last election, the Congress had only won the Tapi district panchayat.

Telecom major Airtel today announced special schemes to help customers in the flood-hit Chennai, including an offer of crediting a minimum balance of Rs 30 in their accounts.


The company said its services have also been partially disrupted due to power failure and it's working with local authorities to restore them.


Airtel said further: "The unprecedented rains and floods in Chennai have disrupted normal life and restricted people's movement from homes. As a small gesture, Airtel has announced the measures to facilitate communication between Airtel customers and their loved ones."


The company announced auto approval of 'Talk Time' credit up to Rs 30 for all Airtel pre-paid mobile customers which it will adjust later once the shops are open and people are able to recharge their phones. It has credited 10 minutes of Airtel-to-Airtel calling talk time free of cost for pre-paid mobile users with a validity of 2 days. It has also credited 50 MB of mobile Internet for free in their account with the same validity."


"Airtel post-paid and fixedline customers whose bills are due to be paid immediately will get an extended time to make the payment and will experience uninterrupted services," the statement clarified.


The uninterrupted rains have resulted in excessive water logging and disruption of essential services in Chennai. 

A child rows to higher ground in a flood-hit Chennai.

Army and navy today came to the rescue of hundreds of people severely hit by heavy rains in Chennai that have left several parts of the city submerged. The naval warship INS Airavat has arrived in Chennai from Vizag with a total of 11 boats, 20 divers. It will join rescue and relief ops by tomorrow.

At about 11 pm yesterday, an army column was able to rescue about 15 trapped civilians in a bus affected by flood waters. The rescue teams have till 11 am today succeeded in rescuing and bringing over 50 marooned civilians to safety in Gudvancheri and Mudichur. A third army rescue column was put into service today morning.


Another column is being rushed in from Bangalore by road, an army statement said. Additional army resources are being mobilised for providing assistance to the flood-affected areas.

Meanwhile, the navy too has chipped in with three teams.  One team comprising 20 sailors (five divers and 15 good swimmers) with Gemini boats and associated gears were deployed last night to Gandhi Nagar near Adyar bridge. The team returned today after rescuing 15 stranded personnel.


Team two consisting of one officer, 16 sailors (four divers and 12 good swimmers), two Geminis and 250 food packets was deputed today morning at RDO Office, Tambaram upon the state government's request.


Team three from Rajali consisting of two officers, 50 sailors and 200 packets was deployed today to RDO Tambaram office for central flood relief operation thereafter.

Additional boats were being deployed to RDO Office, Tambaram for use by Rajali flood relief team. INS Chetlat on Palkbay patrol responded to a distress call to rescue a missing fishing vessel last evening and it was detected in the night with total loss of propulsion and power generation. The fishing vessel was towed to Rameswaram and arrived at the jetty today early morning.


Pic: INS Airavat with a total of 11 boats, 20 divers will join rescue and  relief ops by tomorrow.

Flight services in and out of Chennai airport will remain suspended till tomorrow morning due to the heavy rains and water logging on the runway. The airports Authority of India has issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) to all air operators in this regard, an AAI spokesperson said today. This in effect means that over 700 passengers have been stranded inside the airport.


Chennai Airport authorities had initially shut operations till this morning but due to incessant rains it has now decided to extend it till 6 am tomorrow.


Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) is a notice containing information concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any facility, service or procedure, among others, in airspace management. All airlines have cancelled their operations from Chennai airport.


Spicejet has cancelled all its flights till tomorrow, while Jet Airways has cancelled all its flights to and from Chennai for today. Union Minister for Civil Aviation Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju said everything has been paralysed at the airport.


"A lot of things are stranded at the airport. So the chairman of Airport Authority has tried to develop a plan to make available some essential material like drinking water, and food...staff is also trying. Everything is paralysed," he said.


Asked when the flights can resume, he said, "If the rain stops then only we can give you some type of time frame but if it won't stop then we can't say anything as Chennai and neighbouring districts are badly affected. If water recedes then only we will be able to to do something".


Pic: Passengers wade through the flooded Chennai airport. The picture was tweeted by the Hindu.

These pictures shot a few hours apart show floodwaters in Chennai have been rising.

Bollywood celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar are 'praying' for the safety of people in Chennai, which is affected by non-stop torrential rains.


Amitabh took to Twitter to praise the relief work in the state. "Chennai deluged.. !! Prayers for safety and calm soon... So heartwarming to see immense voluntary help coming by!!," he wrote.


Dia Mirza tweeted, "Salute all the people who are helping #Chennai overcome the floods. This humanity needs to shine in development plans."


Actress Raveena Tandon feels such calamities should be a wake up call for metro cities. "#chennafloods tragedy should be a wake up call for all our cities. Time we left open spaces, lakes and rivers to breathe."


Abhishek Bachchan posted: "Thoughts and prayers with the people more severely affected. #ChennaiFloods


Varun Dhawan tweeted: "My heart goes out to all the victims of the #ChennaiFloods. Praying for them and their families.


Farhan Akhtar tweeted, "Thoughts are with all those affected by the deluge in Chennai."


Parineeti Chopra urged people to help the needy. "Mumbai went through the same thing a few years ago. Its time to help someone else. Please help Chennai!"

Adyar bridge traffic plying on both sides but flyover blocked. Police presence on the bridge. #Chennairains

Pakistan has hanged four men linked to last December's massacre at an army school which killed more than 150 people, mostly children, reports BBC.


The men were sentenced to death by a military court and are the first to be hanged in relation to the attack.


Taliban militants stormed the Army Public School in the north-western city of Peshawar on 16 December 2014.


The hangings come just two weeks ahead of the anniversary of the attack, which shocked the nation.


The massacre prompted a crackdown on Islamist militants, the establishment of military courts to try terror suspects and the resumption of capital punishment after a six-year moratorium.


Earlier this week, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif signed death warrants for the four militants who were named as Maulvi Abdus Salam, Hazrat Ali, Mujeebur Rehman and Sabeel.

Here's a list of specific hashtags you can use during #ChennaiRains. Click on the picture to enlarge. 

Here's a crowd-sourced list of places and people offering shelter in Chennai. Take a look

Mahesh Sharma, MoS, Civil Aviation: Chennai airport is totally waterlogged, about 700 passengers stuck at the airport. Amenities being provided to passengers, will evacuate them as soon as we can.

One of India's oldest newspapers has not been printed for the first time in 137 years due to rains and floods in the southern Indian city of Chennai.


The Hindu, published daily since 1878, did not come out on Wednesday as workers could not access the press, reports the BBC.


The paper's publisher N Murali told BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi that it was the first time this had happened.


The rains have suspended flights and trains and hundreds of people are without power.


"Our Maraimalainagar township was not accessible for the people who run the plant. So, none of our staff could reach the plant. It is located about 30kms (18 miles) from the city in Maraimalainagar," Murali said.


"The printing press plant is large so we put it up outside the city. Even if we had printed the paper, I doubt if it could have been distributed in the city," he added.


Other city newspapers like the Times of India, the Deccan Chronicle and the New Indian Express were printed, although it is unclear if they had reached readers in the city.The army has been deployed to rescue thousands of stranded people after two days of heavy rains.

A torrential downpour, termed the heaviest in over 100 years, on Tuesday crippled life in Chennai, flooding numerous roads, neighbourhoods, train tracks and airport runways and crippling transport and power supply, residents said.

People working in offices located in the suburbs were finding it difficult to reach home after work and many were stuck in their office.

Power has been cut in several areas as a precaution, while people have been advised to stay wherever they are.

With waterlogging on the airport runway, several flights were delayed. For several hours, flights did not take off or land and hundreds of passengers were stuck inside the airport. Trains were delayed and some were cancelled as authorities struggled to cope with the after-effects of the fresh torrential rains in the Tamil Nadu capital.


Water logging on the suburban railway tracks forced the authorities to cancel some services while many trains ran behind schedule. Southern Railways cancelled 12 trains and diverted 15 more.

Big sink holes on several roads forced the authorities to divert the vehicular flow.


Speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa said the unprecedented torrential and extremely heavy rains which is the heaviest recorded in the past more than 100 years and has battered the state's northern districts, especially, Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Cuddalore.


She told Modi that the state machinery is fully geared to meet the challenge.


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


A flood alert has been issued along the banks of Adyar river here as surplus water from the Chembarambakkam reservoir have been let out in the river.


According to municipal administration, around 3,000 people living along the banks of Adyar have been relocated at safer place. According to reports, three lakes in Kanchipuram district were breached due to heavy rains and inflows.


The weather department has warned of heavy rains in Chennai and northern Tamil Nadu over the next three days. The government has declared a holiday for schools in Chennai and neighbouring Kanchipuram district.

Chennai state emergency number: 1070.
25 NDRF teams deployed
IAF rushing in 450 personnel.


Pic: Army personnel help a woman out of her flooded home.

Counting of votes for the crucial local bodies polls in Gujarat, a litmus test for the ruling BJP against the backdrop of Patel quota agitation, is underway.

The elections are being seen as a challenge for the BJP and the Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, as they come after the Patel quota stir. These are also the first major elections in the state after Anandiben took over from Narendra Modi.

The Congress is hoping to make a comeback in the state, cashing in on resentment of the Patel community against BJP. All six municipal corporations --Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar, and Bhavnagar -- are controlled by the BJP.

Flooding in a vegetable market in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh. 

Ahead of Parliament PM Narendra Modi met Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Venkaiah Naidu on the Chennai rains. The Cabinet Secretary has also called a meeting of the IMD chief, the Home Secretary, the National Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Management Authority.

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm after uproar over Arun Jaitley's clarification on Kumari Selja's remarks that she was asked her caste in Gujarat temple. 

How many millimeters of rain did it take to flood Chennai?

Here's the Hindu report yesterday.

After a few days of relief from rain, monsoon activity resumed over the State with heavy showers on the last day of the month, making this November the second wettest month in a century for battered Chennai. Two weather systems that have merged on Monday are likely to bring heavy rain again over the already ravaged parts of the State. The troughs of low pressure over Bay of Bengal near South Andaman Sea and Sri Lanka Coast have moved and lie over southwest Bay of Bengal as one intense weather system.

This is expected to bring very heavy rainfall up to 125 mm in parts of coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and some areas of south Tamil Nadu on Tuesday and Wednesday.

While meteorologists and weather bloggers waited with bated breath for Chennai to break the centurys rainfall record, the city ended up with 1049.3 mm of rainfall on Monday due to a decrease in rain during the weekend.

Chennai had recorded 1088.4 mm in November 1918, which still holds the record for the wettest month in the century. Heavy rains started pounding other coastal areas from Sunday, which was evident from volume recorded at several weather stations.


On Monday till 8.30 am, Kodavasal in Tiruvarur district received the highest volume of 120 mm and Marakkanam in Villupuram district 100 mm and many other places up to 90mm of rains in single day, aggravating the woes of residents.


Rains seemed to have slightly receded on Monday with weather stations such as Tiruttani and Neyveli receiving an average of 20mm till 8.30 p.m. Chennai will continue to receive a few spells of rain or thundershowers, heavy at times for two more days. The Meteorological department expects a decrease in rainfall from Thursday.

MeT Department chief  LS Rathore says that the rain in coastal areas of south India is expected to continue for next 72 hours. The situation is worse in north Tamil Nadu, but heavy rains are expected in south Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well. Heavy rains will continue for at least a week and will peter out thereon.

Shelter for housing 100 people kept ready at INS Adyar, he says, while a  medical team has been kept on standby.
(Navy Helpline 044-25394240.)


Pic: A patient being moved from a flooded hospital in Chennai 

INS Airawat equipped with 5 Jamini boats, 20 divers, relief material, will reach Chennai this evening or tomorrow morning, says the Navy.


Chennai airport,Tambaram and Arakkonam air bases flooded, fixed wing aircraft will land closest to Tirupathi: IAF

Rain-ravaged Tamil Nadu was cut off from the rest of the world today even as the Met department warns for heavy rains in the next 48 hours. The airport has been closed with flooded runways forcing authorities to cancel all flights. A Bloomberg report said flights were likely to remain cancelled until 6am on Thursday. Trains were either stopped or diverted because of overflowing water over tracks. The rail track at Egmore has been washed away. The non-stop torrential rain since Monday evening, showed signs of a light let-up early this morning, giving way to a light drizzle but most areas in the city remained submerged -- some under 5 feet of water. With water levels in the Adyar river rising, the bridge has been closed


The army, navy and NDRF rescue teams were deployed in the worst-affected localities of Chennai and other parts of the state as the rain, initially triggered by a cyclone some days ago, inundated vast tracts of land, especially in the coastal areas.

The slow-moving depression over southwest Bay of Bengal has triggered record rains in the state -- the worst rainfall in 100 years.

The Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that his government would not hand over the probe into the killing of rationalist and writer Dr MM Kalburgi to the CBI.


"Our police department is capable of cracking the case. We know what's happening with the CBI probe into the death of (Narendra) Dabholkar. We will complete the probe," Siddaramaiah said.


He was replying in response to the demand by the BJP to hand over the case to the CBI for a probe. It has been three months since unidentified youths gunned down Dr. Kalburgi at his residence in Dharwad, northwest Karnataka, but the police have not identified the suspects

The Hindustan Times newspaper headlines the Rajiv Gandhi assassination. 

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Tamil Nadu government cannot release the killers of former PM Rajiv Gandhi without consent from the Centre. The SC observed that the Centre  has the final say in remission of sentence in cases investigated by a central agency.  

PM Narendra Modi has called a meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu on to discuss the Chennai rains and ways to extend help to the troubled state.

Torrential rains have pounded several parts of Chennai and its suburbs and Puducherry, triggering a deluge completely disrupting normal life. In the hard times for people of Chennai, here is a chance for those who want to lend a hand. 

In a sarcastic take on Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif's hand shake on sidelines of the climate summit in Paris, the Shiv Sena today said the Prime Minister has displayed "huge tolerance" by shaking hands with his Pakistani counterpart. "Modi has shown huge tolerance by shaking hands with Sharif. Even if the other (party) raises hand, we should fold ours. This is our tolerance and Modi has displayed it," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.

Counting of votes for the recently held civic elections in Gujarat, a litmus test for the ruling BJP against the backdrop of Patel quota agitation, is currently underway amid unprecedented security. As per early trends, the BJP is leading on one seat in Vadodara and Surat respectively. Voting for six municipal corporations was held on November 26, while that for 31 district panchayats, 230 taluka panchayats and 56 municipalities was held on November 29.

The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce its verdict today on whether the Tamil Nadu government could grant remission and release conspirators in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case after commutation of their death sentence into life imprisonment by the apex court on the grounds of inordinate delay by the President in deciding their mercy petition. The apex court by its February 18, 2014 order commuting the death sentence of V Sriharan alias Murugan, AG Perarivalan alias Arivu and T Suthendraraja alias Santhan had said that 11-year delay in deciding their mercy petitions was unreasonable and de-humanizing.

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan has decided to donate 99 per cent of their shares in the company to charity during their lives in an effort to make a happy and healthy world as they announced the birth of their daughter Maxima. In a letter to Maxima posted on his Facebook page,Zuckerberg said that "We are committed to doing our small part to help create this world for all children. We will give 99 per cent of our Facebook shares -- currently about $45 billion -- during our lives to join many others in improving this world for the next generation". "Priscilla and I are so happy to welcome our daughter Max into this world! For her birth, we wrote a letter to her about the world we hope she grows up in," he said.

Many parts of Chennai and its suburbs are flooded after two days of heavy and continuous rain. Flight operations have been indefinitely suspended at the airport after water started entering the airfield. Around 400 passengers are stranded at the Chennai airport owing to the situation and officials said flights wouldn't resume till the water receded. 

Chennai Airport to remain closed throughout the night, status to be reviewed at 6 am in morning. Flights diverted to Bengaluru & Hyderabad.