Another Cloudburst?
My father, some friends and Chenthil inform me that rains have let loose their fury on Madras. it’s been raining non-stop for 14+ hours. And some 50 odd people dead, according to the Times.
Time to pull out the Chennai Help blog?
Update: Back when Mumbai suffered a major flooding, Bombay bloggers Peter Griffin, Amit Varma, Harini Calamur and others collaborated on two fantastic blogs – Cloudburst Mumbai and Mumbai Help. Amit Varma invited me to contribute to that blog, as well suggested I start a similar blog for Chennai for just such an emergency.
Now, the rains that are holding Chennai hostage are in no way comparable to the lashing Bombay recieved, but I do know how difficult 5 centimetres of rain is in Madras. Imagine 27 cms over a 15 hour period.
Electricity is cut off, roads are invisible. Add to it Chennai’s below average sewerage system, you have a recipe for disaster. Chennai Help will keep information flowing, and if it comes to that, relief channels open. it’s still too early to say anything about this current rain, except it is unusual. Keep watching…
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October 27th, 2005 at 12:36 pm
I am in Parrys and this seems to be the only area with power supply. So I will continue blogging till power lasts here.
October 27th, 2005 at 3:15 pm
Update from Sun News – 3pm bulletin:
=> Cyclone expected to hit the Chennai-Ongole stretch tomorrow (Oct 28) morning.
=> Heavy / very heavy rains with heavy winds expected for the next 24-48 hours
=> 66 dead so far in Chennai
=> All schools and colleges closed
=> Since this morning, 23cm of rain has been recorded in the city
=> Low lying areas like West Mambalam, Purasawalkam completely flooded
=> Chennai Airport runway flooded and many international and domestic flights have been routed to Bangalore
=> Railways cancels a number of outbound long-distance trains. Helplines are: 25383783/84/85
=> Chennai Corporation Helplines are: 25381330, 25383783, 25384670
October 27th, 2005 at 4:42 pm
Give me author rights on the blog. I will try and get some pictures in from Chennai.
October 28th, 2005 at 7:59 am
Hope it does not develop into a 26July like situation in Bombay. Best of luck.
October 27th, 2006 at 10:38 pm
[...] It’s been a year since this. And, co-incidentally, it rained rather heavily today. Hmmmm [...]