Chennai floods

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 10 Dec 2015 05:41

Snake charmers are charging 1500 bucks to get snakes out of the houses.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 10 Dec 2015 05:48

SwamyG wrote:prahaar: Narayansamy, a former Union Minister.

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/former-u ... ry-1252716

T. Anjiah, CM of AP, did same service for Rajiv Gandhi.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 10 Dec 2015 05:51

SwamyG wrote:Snake charmers are charging 1500 bucks to get snakes out of the houses.

Massan service charge! but no massan infra available.

A snake trap cost 35-40 massan bucks... it works, but 50:50 of catching snakes.

but the total cost of chasing all snakes perhaps would be the same.. charmers will take it away and release it again so that they can revisit.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 10 Dec 2015 16:27

A wrong call that sank Chennai - S.Ramani & V.Srinivasan, The Hindu

As the flood water recedes in Chennai, serious questions are being raised about reservoir management in the city. Much of the flooding and subsequent waterlogging was a consequence of the outflows from major reservoirs into swollen rivers and into the city following heavy rains. The release of waters from the Chembarambakkam reservoir in particular has received much attention.

Official data from the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board for the last 20 days suggest that the high precipitation and reservoir outflows on November 16 and December 1 respectively were primarily responsible for swelling the rivers. On November 17, 18,000 cusecs was released from the reservoir in Chembarambakkam.

However, from November 24 to November 30, when the city experienced minimal rainfall, the outflows from the reservoir were limited, even as the storage levels were maintained at almost 85-88% of the total capacity of 3645 mcft. When heavy rains to the tune of nearly 48 cm fell on the reservoir on December 1, 29,000 cusecs was released over 12 hours.

Experts raise the question as to why storage was set at such high levels. Professor Janakarajan of the Madras Institute of Development Studies also argues that the outflow management from the reservoir was improper. If storage levels were set at less than 75% and sluice gates were opened to allow for outflow from the reservoir in a way that it exceeded the inflows in the last week of November, the blow in the form of the high outflow on December 1 could have been softened, he asserts.

Officials formerly with the PWD say if the risk of releasing a particular volume prior to the heavy rainfall day had been taken, there would have been lesser floods in places like K.K.Nagar.

It is reliably learnt that the government is considering a move to further reduce the set storage level in the reservoir. Now the level is at two feet below the brim, and discussions are under way to change this to four feet.

Reservoir managers ignored warnings of heavy downpour

On November 17, 18,000 cusecs was released from the reservoir in Chembarambakkam, causing massive flooding in areas such as Mudichur, West Tambaram, and Manapakkam among others.

However, from November 24 to November 30, when the city experienced minimal rainfall, the outflows from the reservoir were limited. Officials in the Public Works Department asserted that the inflow of 31,000 cusecs (26,000 before 6:00 p.m. owing to the high rainfall) resulted in the high outflow of 29,000 cusecs from the reservoir on December 1 and that they couldn’t hold the reservoir beyond a point.

Former officials of the department, however, said if they had taken the risk of releasing a particular volume from the reservoir prior to the heavy rainfall day, water received from some tanks like Porur and Mudichur could have been stored.

The decision to conservatively hold storage despite early warnings from various meteorological agencies about heavy rainfall in the offing in late November and early December, clearly exacerbated the disaster that followed.

This was in addition to the structural issues in Chennai with floodplains and drainage systems being constrained by unplanned urbanisation.

Storage levels in Chembarambakkam and other reservoirs are decided based on drinking water requirements for the city and other areas in summer.

That the authorities should have hedged on the side of flood management over concerns on drinking water is now evident in hindsight.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 10 Dec 2015 16:34

Overflowing drain, not Adyar, flooded airport - V.Ayyappan, ToI

Last week, as planes floated around the flooded airport, Airports Authority of India officials thought the rising River Adyar nearby was the culprit. The real cause, some airport staff say, was that a drain linking Pallavaram with the Adyar (see pic) was filled with water from surrounding areas and, through openings on the tarmac, inundated the operation area. Along came tonnes of garbage.

Airlines officials and other staff at the airport have for years been urging the AAI to talk to the local body concerned and get the drain sealed off. Many such drains, designed to carry rain water from Pallavaram, Meenambakkam and nearby neighbourhoods, run across the airport campus.

The airport was flooded, AAI officials assumed, because of the second runway built across the river. In reality, water from the drain overflowed on to the taxiway, runway and apron in front of international terminal at the time the Adyar overflowed.

Airport staff watching the water level in front of the international terminal rise said it was flowing from the Pallavaram-end of the main runway to the end where the domestic terminal is located. Water flowed into the basement of the terminals.

"It was flowing slowly like a river flooding the entire area used for operating planes. The drifting garbage showed that the water was flowing from Pallavaram side. The water broke the compound walls and flowed into Adayar river," said an airport staffer.

Drains connected to the airport proved risky, he added. "Water from neighbourhoods entered the airport through the drains." Airlines and other stakeholders have for long been saying that a permanaent solution is to close the drain.

An AAI official admitted that the existing drains proved useless as the water level around the airport was high. "Construction of the second runway over the river also led to the flooding. The river was outside the airport before the runway was extended," he added.

However, getting the local body to close the drain from Pallavaram might be difficult as it is the only way to discharge rainwater into the river.

After the floods, Union minister of civil aviation Ashok Gajapathy Raju said inspections and studies would be done to prevent such a situuation. "We have received inputs from local officers," he added.

Sources said the Adyar was also affected because of the airport expansion.

"The runway across it constricted the river's flow leading to flooding in neighbouring Manapakkam and other areas.

Airport raised the height of the runway near the river to prevent flooding but no one anticipated that water would enter from Pallavaram." Inundation of the airport was also because water flowed in from the metro rail worksite at the Hotel Trident end of the secondary runway and could not flow out.

Airport director Deepak Shastri said the drains could not be closed because the design was based on the geography of the area. "We are planning to conduct a study to take steps to ensure that the drains do not overflow. We will also prepare a fresh outlet programme for neighbouring areas.

Additional drains will also be built."

SaraLax · Post by **SaraLax** » 10 Dec 2015 18:00

SwamyG wrote:Snake charmers are charging 1500 bucks to get snakes out of the houses.

Viper and Cobras are common in coastal locations in South East India. They are very dangerous and seen more in suburbs of Chennai. If children & slow moving elders are in the house & if you have the money to spend - just don't argue - pay the guys to catch the snakes as soon as possible and get them deposited at a proper place like the forestry department facility - so that they wont come back to your house.

SaraLax · Post by **SaraLax** » 10 Dec 2015 18:08

Singha wrote:gensets are invariably located in basements as the diesel tanks are buried underground for safety. will need a new design fuel pump if gensets gotta be on roof as storage is still going to be underground tanks.

It seems there is something like MOBILE Mobile Towers or Cell-On-Wheels available. Probably these can be used during any emergency scenario when the original mobile cell sites go down due to some damage or the other. I guess the army might have some of these but we would want our TELCOs to buy & use these during times like the recent Chennai Floods when floods hit the cell tower area & also cause grid power disconnect.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 10 Dec 2015 18:28

relax... snakes don't do intentionally harm unless you charge at it. keep distance. I had a wild cobra just passing me within a foot behind my chair at home [the 3.? footer fella sneaked in]. I realized only when it slithered away to the corner.

It can read your eyes and mind though.. watch what you speak and you intend with your eyes. That is what I did, (in my case he was struggling to get out - slippery surfaces and it can't climb walls). I had to help him out with a long stick. I took about 25 attempts to throw him out of the window.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 10 Dec 2015 20:25

HaindavaKeralam ‏@HKupdate 22h22 hours ago
#ChennaiFloods - #Amma donates 5 Cr

How much did #KeralaGovt which offered 5cr 4 #PakFloods gave 4 #ChennaiFloods ?

58 retweets 15 likes

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 10 Dec 2015 20:59

SaiK wrote:relax... snakes don't do intentionally harm unless you charge at it. keep distance. I had a wild cobra just passing me within a foot behind my chair at home [the 3.? footer fella sneaked in]. I realized only when it slithered away to the corner.

It can read your eyes and mind though.. watch what you speak and you intend with your eyes. That is what I did, (in my case he was struggling to get out - slippery surfaces and it can't climb walls). I had to help him out with a long stick. I took about 25 attempts to throw him out of the window.

SaiK snakes have very poor eyesight. They depend on vibration sensing on the ground and scent (via tongue) in the air. You did a brave and kind thing - my compliments. In Benagluru there are a dedicated bunch of snake rescuers who will come and extract a snake and release it out of harms way.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 10 Dec 2015 21:00

SwamyG wrote:Snake charmers are charging 1500 bucks to get snakes out of the houses.

Capitalism at your service

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 10 Dec 2015 21:01

town planning

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 10 Dec 2015 21:50

need to whatsapp this if you have a group

sighbaboo ‏@sighbaboo Dec 8
Ahem Ahem. Advisory. #ChennaiRains Be wary of Job Help by a EJ HR Consultancy company for ppl affected by floods. Anna Nagar. Ambattur area.
15 retweets 2 likes

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 10 Dec 2015 21:59

Snake charmers, they don't charge a dime

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 12 Dec 2015 05:47

shiv wrote:
SaiK wrote:relax... snakes don't do intentionally harm unless you charge at it. keep distance. I had a wild cobra just passing me within a foot behind my chair at home [the 3.? footer fella sneaked in]. I realized only when it slithered away to the corner.

It can read your eyes and mind though.. watch what you speak and you intend with your eyes. That is what I did, (in my case he was struggling to get out - slippery surfaces and it can't climb walls). I had to help him out with a long stick. I took about 25 attempts to throw him out of the window.
SaiK snakes have very poor eyesight. They depend on vibration sensing on the ground and scent (via tongue) in the air. You did a brave and kind thing - my compliments. In Benagluru there are a dedicated bunch of snake rescuers who will come and extract a snake and release it out of harms way.

I don't know about their eyesight strength saar, but he was pretty much in sync with me. Maybe he has boresight integrated with IRST and sonar in one package.

Actually, I did see him again few days after.. I think we might be sharing RE with him, and he has become sentry for many rats that do invade. It didn't bother me much as I never thought as an enemy. [it could be that I am keeping a safe distance and alert].

btw, this is 100s of miles away from Chennai. they could behave differently as how people treat them. After releasing him out of home, his sentry job got hindered and he went for some vacation. But, then I didn't observe much as my visit was short.

Karthik S · Post by **Karthik S** » 12 Dec 2015 05:51

Aren't cobras deaf too? Read somewhere it can't hear the charmers' sound but move based on the charmers' movements.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 12 Dec 2015 06:23

Imagine this guy is an actor. He speaks like a pro. Wow. Hats off to him.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 12 Dec 2015 06:49

chennai floods as portrayed in a paki news

Flood waters swirl in south India even as rain eases

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 12 Dec 2015 10:35

w^^ the comments section of the above article, its surprising to see so many yindoos reading The yawn.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 12 Dec 2015 10:42

Javee wrote:w^^ the comments section of the above article, its surprising to see so many yindoos reading The yawn.

Suwarlee u did not expect that PAKISTANIS read the angreji rag YAWN?

Readership and letter writership are 99% PeeAref onlee.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 12 Dec 2015 10:42

Karthik S wrote:Aren't cobras deaf too? Read somewhere it can't hear the charmers' sound but move based on the charmers' movements.

actually not totally deaf, have ruidmentary ears , can sense some vibrations on the ground.

some like pit vipers have "pit' like structure behind eyes which sense infrared rays? like warm and cold blooded animals for meals.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 12 Dec 2015 10:45

Javee wrote:w^^ the comments section of the above article, its surprising to see so many yindoos reading The yawn.

The Best comment from a Paki to the article , "yes it is our water but it is not our fault". A Paki must be geographical genius to think flooding is related to Kishanganga project. On top of his Brilliance that Indus water belongs to him and his ilk.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 Dec 2015 00:19

crap the yawn, and read this

Chennai floods: This group of volunteers fed thousands by churning out 40,000 food packets a day

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/standp ... ay-2154900
Aruna Subramaniam of Bhoomika Trust has been with the Chennai Rain Relief Programme since the floods hit Chennai. In the immediate aftermath of the floods, the team set up a community kitchen which scaled up every day to reach out to the distressed Chennai residents. Here are some of her experiences.

Chennai’s Volunteers

They came in droves to volunteer. They knocked on doors to collect newspaper for packing! They vowed to not clog up drains with plastic or rubber bands and learnt the art of packing in dried leaves and newspaper. They set up assembly line processes and quality control. They made new friends, formed teams and stayed on their feet. They picked up brooms to sweep away water with every new bout of rain. They picked up trash and washed huge vessels. They took delivery of groceries and kept tabs on gas cylinders. They formed teams to do real-time surveys of the affected areas and came back, distressed, to ask for food to be distributed. They waded through water and delivered food. They loaded and unloaded trucks and drove their vehicles to deliver. They heaved a sigh of relief when we announced that an ambulance had reached a woman in labour. They reached out to all their overseas friends’ parents and helped evacuate them. They smiled and joked through their tiredness and never failed to check reporting time for next day.

The cooks maintained an amazing quality of good throughout the ordeal. The volunteers packed and packed. An incredible pace was set. Every dispatch became a milestone to celebrate. The volunteers came in such large numbers that we set up a second kitchen to achieve the large requirement. We vowed to not turn down any request for food (although I did turn down a woman from a political party who demanded we supply for her division: I reasoned with her that priority was to send to the farthest and most affected point. I said we would visit and check her area out. She wanted to know how we were unwilling to give importance to this division. I said that we are citizens of Chennai and we have no divisions. Our volunteers calmly served her tea. After watching us work for a while, the group left.).

I am stunned, moved by the way that people came together, extraordinary feats of service, seeking no acknowledgement. People cooked for their neighbours and shared their homes. Large establishments opened their doors to the public. Individuals walked in to donate without even bothering to give their names. The anger and scepticism in me against the political class and the media faded into the background as I delighted in the people around me. People of Chennai, you are a class act!

Related read- What it's really like to deliver aid in a disaster zone

A Day in the Life

At four in the morning, the burners come alive and the cooks start another day. Two kitchens. By seven, the volunteers trickle in. The phone does not stop ringing, the requests start pouring in. Can we meet this volume? A team starts flashing messages for more volunteers. Is it really a Sunday? Packing begins in earnest. We run out of stitched dry leaves. A volunteer takes charge and networks madly. Another runs to procure green banana leaves. A new process begins. They are cleaned and cut in size. A new assembly station is set up.

People walk in with newspapers, cars drive in with cardboard boxes. Finally, some good news: twenty thousand dried packing leaves have been sourced and will reach us in an hour. We multiply provision requirements. Suppliers are made to open up shops. Random calculations are made and ordered. A team chases up supplies while my warriors pack with single-minded devotion.

All of a sudden, the rains begin again. Volunteers squeeze under tents. Umbrellas and plastic sheets are used to cover packed food. They move swiftly to the dispatch team. I pray that they do not slip. But these kids are amazing, they adapt in minutes. The rains are no constraint. Being drenched seems normal. Cars and tempos arrive to pick up food in batches of 3000, 500, 2000 to Korattur, Pallikaranai, Tsunami Nagar. Names and quantities blur.

Volunteers ply raw materials to the second location where work is on at an unbelievable pace. Hundreds of bubbletops are filled with water for cooking and drinking. Prominent Carnatic artistes walk in. It is December after all! But they have a new stage. We dump supplies into their cars and they rush to deliver them. They load and unload with an easy rhythm. A breakfast counter is set up serving upma for the third day in a row. Hot tea is served. A cheer erupts: five thousand packed and delivered!

Soon, it resembles a war zone. Chlorine tabs all around to sanitise, volunteers pulled out for tetanus shots, everyone is making friends. Neighbours team up to cook food that arrives in large containers: ‘Can you please include these?’ they ask. Organisations cook food in their canteens and ask us to collect. All of a sudden, we discover that we have delivered twenty thousand packets.

The press walks in. ‘How did you put together this scale?’ they ask, and we have no answer. The senior gentleman and the ten-year-old girl continue through the day. A new small team of cooks arrive, we increase capacity. A strategic alliance is struck between the cooks. There are purchase teams, supply chains, logistics committees.

Calls pour in from Mylapore, cooks wanting to join this massive effort. Team leaders walk around urging people to make as large an individual packing as possible. Individuals feeding families around them are desperate for food packages to arrive, as their gas supplies at home have run out and they cannot let down people waiting for them. We cannot say no!

We urge people calling in for small deliveries to get neighbourhood apartments to cook and pool. Numbers are tallied, stocks are reviewed. We realise we have delivered forty-five thousand! There’s mad cheering. The cooks are embarrassed with a standing ovation.

The final pick-up team fails to arrive. It is too late in the night to create alternate delivery. We are all feeling wretched about wasting food and the volunteers’ efforts. A call comes in from a distressed software professional having visited a slum where no food had gone. We ask her if she wants to come and take the packets now. This incredible couple arrives in their small car. The car becomes as large as their hearts as the food is piled in. They thank us with tears in their eyes. Meanwhile, our volunteers search on social media. A request pops up. Volunteers load the food in their vehicles. No one seems to be in a hurry to go home.

Scaling Up

The core team at Bhoomika begins a dual operation plan: rescue and rehabilitation. Overnight, a new control centre is created with all operations under one roof. We move into a large wedding hall. Volunteers furiously share the new venue details. There’s no time to analyse why requests are not coming down. As young professionals return to work, new volunteers arrive. Who are these young smart girls with clipped accent who effortlessly blend with a team of drivers and helpers, carrying boxes with ease and heading into suburbs? Chennai girls!

The water has still not drained in many parts of the city. More news of electrocution accidents trickles in. We are too numb to react. Stories and visuals of homes are shared. People experience the horror of returning to devastated homes. A lifetime’s accumulation of possessions stands destroyed. How can this new section of self-made middle-class individuals, which is not used to taking charity from anyone, come to terms with this reality? Heartbreaking!

Massive rehabilitation will have to begin. Let us now unite and create, let us question and demand, let us vow to not support this unimaginable level of plundering of our ecology and our resources for this thoughtless, mindless growth. Let us not forget the lessons learnt.

Read- Chennai Floods: The worst might be over, but keep diseases at bay with these health tips

The next phase

How does one know when to stop? How much is enough?

After seven days, we made the decision to close down our community kitchen, which was churning out thirty to forty thousand food packets a day. This was not based on any clear understanding of what was required at the ground level. We were told by the government that food would be provided to those still in relief centres.

The incredible number of volunteers who kept arriving at our centre cannot be categorised. I will only call them ‘people of Chennai’. No, even that is not correct. A group arrived from Kodaikanal to volunteer. Groups of expats from all over the world stood shoulder-to-shoulder and learnt to pack.Chennai’. No, even that is not correct. A group arrived from Kodaikanal to volunteer. Groups of expats from all over the world stood shoulder-to-shoulder and learnt to pack.

‘Let's get everybody back home, let's get them back to their vocation,’ is our new mantra.

A huge team is at work sorting and packing dry rations so that people rebuilding their homes have some basic necessities to start with. The process is complex, but our team, with its seven days of non-stop work experience, has a solution for everything: more work stations to make individual packs from large sacks; rice, dal, tamarind, spices, consolidated into a single pack; a human chain to move packed stuff from packing to storage!

Supplies of provisions are continuously being sourced. Trucks arrive and move out. Logistics of reaching out and delivering are being planned. Our planning team has now quit the conference room. Sleeves have been rolled up. Decisions are being made in minutes. Bringing in NGOs on the ground, small volunteer groups from different parts of the city, we are encouraging the adoption of smaller areas to help with outreach. The logistics are mindboggling.

We create a team of boys and girls in a devastated area on the banks of the Adyar River and bond them with a small team of our volunteers. They slip into easy camaraderie: ‘bro’ becomes ‘anna’. They huddle together to look at pictures of their now destroyed homes, listening to experiences. Our volunteers are determined to get them back home. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love you, young men and women of Chennai.

The larger reality hits us. All the tenements on the canal banks and riversides need to be resettled. These homes are already non-existent as we see small walls here and there, some flooring and no roofs. The destruction is total. I cannot even imagine the emotional trauma of losing a home, much less a forced relocation. We do not even know how all this is going to happen. Is the onus to be on our state government? There has been no news.

The more fortunate residents, the business people, walk into our relief centres, giving us stories of devastation near their homes. They are now emotionally connected with the neighbours they had never met before. These tenements have become their family as they have provided milk for the children, taken care of the old and the pregnant. We tell them to come back with the youth from these tenements, we promise to give them guidance and support.

In walks 2015 Magsaysay award winner Anshu Gupta of Goonj and our jaws drop! “You are doing outstanding work,” he tells us, “and I am here for you people.” They have organised truckloads of delivery material. More importantly, they have experience in working in devastated zones.

It looks insurmountable, the challenge of cleaning up, building new homes, healing people and rescuing Chennai from greed.

But if there’s one thing I know, it’s this: we will overcome because Chennai cares.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 13 Dec 2015 02:57

Awesome job Chennai!!!

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 13 Dec 2015 07:18

SaiK wrote: I don't know about their eyesight strength saar, but he was pretty much in sync with me. Maybe he has boresight integrated with IRST and sonar in one package.
.

IRST yes. Sonar is passive.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 13 Dec 2015 07:19

Karthik S wrote:Aren't cobras deaf too? Read somewhere it can't hear the charmers' sound but move based on the charmers' movements.

They sense ground vibrations

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 13 Dec 2015 07:40

Chennai floods result of bad town planning; the new project that never took off could have averted the havoc

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/art ... aign=cppst

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 13 Dec 2015 10:10

You talk to anyone, they sing bhakti songs to the youth and people in general. Proud to be a Madras guy.

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 13 Dec 2015 18:48

http://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/S89Vf ... rescu.html

Yet, the story of the latest flood is not a simple linear narrative of callous government officials, poor urban planning and marvellous self-organizing social media-driven help networks. As with most things in India, it’s complicated.
In September, the local folks in the Public Works Department decided to do something uncommon. Their job. They desilted every storm drain, elevated every street and, amazingly enough, collaborated with another government department, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.
Almost every junction box was raised to keep it above water level in case of floods. These were model local government employees, that kind that most people in India assume do not exist.

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 13 Dec 2015 18:53

TNEB has already proposed (before the Deepavali rains) to increase the height of the junction box - They cited 3 problems, flood, being an eye sore and to free up the pavement for walkers.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 14 Dec 2015 03:20

somethings we can do too, and much better with ISRO and aerial terrain mapping videos/photos:

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/produc ... study.html
Disaster Relief Case Study

Requirements: The United National World Bank and Vanuatu government required a system that:
Could quickly deploy in challenging terrain
Remained stable in weather conditions including wind and rain

Solution: The Heliwest Group deployed the Indago quadrotor unmanned aerial system (UAS) to survey 50 sites across nine remote islands. The team conducted 126 separate missions over 12 days to capture oblique imagery, video, and ortho-mapping. The Indago’s flexibility and small logistics footprint allowed Heliwest to deploy a full system while remaining mobile on police patrol boats, zodiacs, quadbikes, cars, and regional flights and light helicopters.

This is possible for a new chennai. Chennai can be a model case study how to plan future smart cities.
Also read: http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... =24&t=7140

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 14 Dec 2015 11:01

Amutha IAS, special officer for flood relief who is spearheading the removal of encroachments in Kancipuram Dist.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Dec 2015 12:20

This is a disaster that will take the city a few years to recover from. The massive infrastructural work to be done,and which should be perfectly done,not of the current corrupt quality,will require huge funding. Resettlement of slum dwellers living near riverbanks and tanks will also require new land areas for their accommodation, which again must be flood free! Restoring the hydrological network that once existed is another issue,as what do you do with the huge concrete jungle sitting in the low-lying areas on what was once the flood plains? The topography of Chennai/Madras is such that such excessive rainfall has nowhere else to go if it cannot be fed into the sea asap.

Neither of the two Dravidian parties have any integrity,as stories of their rampant corruption is rife. From reports emanating from Chennai,criticism is open and mounting from the "man in the stream".
All Amma's freebies like TVs,mixies,etc. have been washed away by the waters.Thousands of Families have lost everything.

There will be a gradual exodus from Chennai/Madras of those able to do so while while the rest will have to literally weather the storm.Ironically,it is the old town area of erstwhile Madras that ha survived the deluge,and therein lies the answer.The British Empire built the infrastructure well to benefit the people,while our post-Independence leaders have built empires for themselves.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 14 Dec 2015 12:30

Oh, well... the british probably stole the high land and left the natives to build in the floodplains as development progressed. Pretty standard practice, hain? They could dredge the Cooum and Buckingham canal to enable swift drainage to the sea.

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 14 Dec 2015 15:23

If people start leaving the city for floods then Mumbai should've been empty before Chennai. Industry in Chennai exist for a reason and I'm sure the floods have not wipe off that yet.

Actually, part of the reason why the Cooum needs constant dredging is because of the existence of Chennai/Ennore port. Here is something I read sometime back,

The coastline behaviour in the Chennai-Ennore reach has revealed many important aspects. For example, the effects like formation of an extensive beach on the south side (Marina beach) and progressive erosion and eventually formation of Royapuram Bay has been well documented in the coastal engineering literature more than 50 years back.

The formation of a beach on the south side has been used with advantage for various urban developments and the region has been the pride of Chennai City. Even the formation of the Royapuram Bay, which had been of concern, has been eventually used for extension of major port and for the development of fisheries harbour with minimal capital dredging. However, it is well known that severe erosion has resulted in the northern reaches up to Ennore, which has aggravated over the years despite some local protection works.

The Marina beach had beneficial effects of providing vast additional land area for urban use. However it is adversely affecting the hydraulic exchange mechanisms in the Cooum River, which has been a sore feature in the region. Progressive seaward advancement of the Marina beach has aggravated the Cooum river problem. In the year 2000-2001, construction of groyne/training jetty of 150 m length on the south side of the Cooum river has not only aggravated the choking of the river inlet but also has caused erosion in some reaches of the Marina beach.

http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/12 ... 97-604.pdf

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 14 Dec 2015 15:54

I don't see people begin thinking about proactive models for future. I see some corrections like amma taking steps for greed, but I am pretty positive this desire to correct will fade away as things dry up when Sun hits every sand particle to 60*c.

comprehensive correction is needed. desilting lakes and dredging rivers, connecting them where required, destroying properties on low-lying areas, and moving over to a new city.

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 14 Dec 2015 17:04

News from HYD,

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 157676.cms

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 14 Dec 2015 17:19

Here is a good overview of what is available in Chennai (mostly in tamil),

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 14 Dec 2015 19:25

Very informative..I knew most of it but he paints the complete picture

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 15 Dec 2015 00:03

Gus can you write a short para for others to understand?