Over 5,000 people rescued so far by NDRF. Train service hit. Airport shut till December 6.

Chennai reels under heavy floods following record-breaking rainfall and overflowing lakes. Thousands were left homeless or stranded in their homes without food or electricity. Telephone services too took a hit in many areas.

Live area-wise updates, courtesy chennairains.org:

Area Time Updates Kilpauk 9.45 pm Water Stagnation in New Avadi road and Water tank road. Power available. West Mambalam/Duraiswamy Subway 9 pm No power. Subway is still closed and water is receding. Egmore 8:47 pm Montieth Road. Flooded with thigh-high water. Pazhamudir is open with no milk, bread and vegetables Power available in only some places. Kolathur 8.45 pm Ankle deep water but power is restored. Not many have cellphone coverage. Ashok Nagar 8.30 pm Manthope colony, 11th & 12th avenue still water logged. Supplies except milk available. No power and not expected to resume until tomorrow. From Pillar to Udhayam theater there's little to no water. Still no mobile connectivity. Vadapalani 8. 30 pm Metro Station is crowded and running too. Power in some areas and mobiles working. Madipakkam to Ram Nagar 8.20 pm Water at hip level. Shops open with milk and water available at double rates. Anna Nagar/Thirumangalam 8 pm Not raining as of now. Power is back. Shops are open with basic provisions available. Nungambakkam 8.15 pm Uttamar Gandhi Salai to Sterling Road is water-free. Super markets open. Power is on. Purasaiwalkam 8 pm Mucky water present. Most areas flooded. Small shops selling groceries. Milk 1/2L @ Rs.45. No electricity as of now. Most areas flooded. Nandanam/Chamiers road 8.20 pm Water knee high. Venkateswara hospital open. Shops closed and No power available. Nandanam signal to West Mambalam 8:19 pm Shin level water. Groceries, Tea shops and Medical Shops Open.

> Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday flew to Chenna i to take stock of the flood situation. After an aerial survey, he met with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and announced Rs.1,000 crore for Tamil Nadu flood relief. He said this is in addition to the Rs. 940 crore which were released by the Centre earlier.

The floods >have left over 269 dead in Tamil Nadu and 54 in Andhra Pradesh, said Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha. He described the situation as "alarming".

At the parlimentary meet, the Centre described the situation in Chennai as "worrisome".

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister > J. Jayalalithaa today conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas in Chennai and sururbs on Thursday.

The India Meterlogical Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rains for the next two to three days in Tamil Nadu.

The Airports Authority of India on Wednesday announced that operations at the Chennai airport will be shut till December 6 due to waterlogging on the runway. Many trains have been cancelled or diverted.

In case of any help and emergency tweet with #ChennaiRainsHelp and you can also look for people offering services or help > here.

Latest updates:

8:06 p.m: Trujet Airlines, to operate to Arakkonam naval base airport till December 6, to offer complimentary bus service between Arakkonam & Koyambedu.

7:05 p.m: "Given the alarming situation in TN, we have ordered the suspension of toll collection on all NHs in the state till December 11, 2015," says Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. He added that an order has been issued to ease rescue, relief & rehab operations being undertaken by various central and state agencies.

6: 53 p.m: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu reaches out to Tamil Nadu.

Reached out to TN Govt & offered all possible assistance from AP. I stand by people of Chennai in this difficult time. >#ChennaiRainsHelp — N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) >December 3, 2015

5:48 p.m: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sent five crore rupees for relief and rehabilitation work to Tamil Nadu. “People of Bihar are with the citizens of Tamil Nadu in this hour of sorrow,” Nitish Kumar said adding Bihar has been battling natural calamity like flood every year. > Read more...

I have seen the damage and misery caused by the extremely heavy rainfall: PM >@narendramodi in Tamil Nadu >pic.twitter.com/g4SOONh6Pt — PMO India (@PMOIndia) >December 3, 2015

5:10 p.m: "I've directed that Rs.1000 crore be released immediately by Government of India to Tamil Nadu for immediate relief," says PM Modi after meeting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. He added that this will be over and above the Rs. 940 crore which was released earlier.

4:40 p.m: PM Narendra Modi reaches INS Adyar in Chennai, meets CM J Jayalalithaa.

Photo: ANI Photo: ANI

4:30 p.m: An official update provided by the NDRF said over 5,000 people have been rescued till now in search and rescue operations in various parts of Tamil Nadu till 3p.m.

4:25 p.m: Regional Meteorological Centre says, "Heavy to very heavy rain will occur at places in North coastal Tamil Nadu, Puduchery with isolated, extremely heavy rain in Delta districts and Karaikal."

4:10 p.m: The Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) in Mysuru is preparing food packets for distribution in the flood-hit areas of Tamil Nadu.

Photo: M.A. Sriram (The Hindu) Photo: M.A. Sriram (The Hindu)

4:06 p.m: Train traffic has been hit and it will take time to restore, says Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu - ANI

4:05 p.m: Nearly 400 houses suffered damage in the torrential rainfall that battered Puducherry where rescue operations continue and people have been moved to relief centres as water inundated several parts of the city. Speaking about the situation, District Collector D Manikandan said a total of 383 houses were damaged in the rain. Revenue and other department staff had evacuated more than 1000 rain-hit people to relief centres and more than two lakh food packets distributed since last two days.

3:40 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches INS Rajali in Arakkonam. He will take stock of the flood situation by conducting an aeriel survey of Chennai and its suburbs.

Photo: ANI Photo: ANI

3:30 p.m: Air India to operate a special flight to the Arrakonam Naval Air Station from Hyderabad to bring back stranded passengers.

3:20 p.m: The Army and the NDRF undertaking relief in the city. Eleven Army columns to be in position by evening.

Photo: IMD Photo: IMD

3:15 pm: Over 100 people taken to safety by teams of the Army, IAF and the NDRF. A seven-month pregnant woman was airlifted today from Medumbakkam, near Guindy, one of the worst-affected areas in the flooded city. Among those evacuated were 50 stranded students of SRM University.

3:00 pm: INSAT image of clouds over Tamil Nadu as of 8.15 a.m. today

Photo: IMD Photo: IMD

2:12 pm: Facebook, which has its second largest userbase in India, activated the feature to allow people mark themselves as “safe” from the floods. >. ..Read more...

2:10 pm: Social networking giant Facebook has activated its Safety Check feature in Chennai that has witnessed the heaviest rainfall in a century.

1:28 pm: College students distribute milk, food etc for rescued people at a school in Madhavaram.

Photo: V. Ganesan (The Hindu) Photo: V. Ganesan (The Hindu)

1:11 pm: NDRF teams have doubled the number of their rescuers in the rain and flood-battered Chennai and adjoining areas to 1,200 even as the force today decided to penetrate deep into the affected areas to aid the marooned. -PTI

1:07 pm: Andhra Pradesh government assures Tamil Nadu that it would look into its demand of reducing the outflow from Pichatur and other dams in Chittoor district as the flow of water is likely to flood neighbouring Thiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu.

1:05 pm: Mr. Modi leaves for Chennai

Photo: ANI Photo: ANI

12:48 pm: Boats being airlifted from the Hyderabad Air Force base to Chennai for rescuing marooned people.

Photo: Serish Nanisetti Photo: Serish Nanisetti

12:40 pm: Rain water gushes out in all directions and surrounds Gemini Circle. Vehicle-users put to inconvenience to reach office. Photo: V. Ganesan

Scene at Gemini flyover Scene at Gemini flyover

12: 37 pm: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa conducts an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Chennai and its suburbs. >More

A combination picture of TN Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa conducting the aeriel survey. Photo: Special arrangement.

Photo: Special arrangement Photo: Special arrangement

12:30 pm: After 48 hours, though there is reduction in intensity of rainfall but we don't see total secession of rainfall for next five to six days: IMD to ANI

12:26 pm: Out of 30, 2 NDRF teams have been deployed in Chennai, says Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha

12:24 pm: The Indian Air Force(IAF) has pressed into service three aircraft to evacuate hundreds of passengers stranded at the Chennai airport. Airports Authority of India chairman R.K. Shrivastava said that around 250-300 passengers are stranded at the Chennai airport. These passengers will be airlifted from the Chennai airport to Tambaram and Arakkonam airbase of the air force, he added.

12:16 pm: Chennai Mail scheduled to leave Mangaluru at 13.25 hrs is cancelled due to rains in Chennai and adjoining area.

12:12 pm: MeT Dept has predicted heavy rainfall for the next 2-3 days, says Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha

12:00 pm: Prime Minister to visit Chennai to take stock of the situation arising due to the devastating floods. -PIB

11: 10 am: President Pranab Mukherjee expresses grief over the loss of lives in the flood tragedy in Chennai and hopes that the people of Tamil Nadu will overcome it with fortitude and dignity.

11:00 am: Thousands of residents are fleeing north Chennai, where no rescue services have been operating. There are flash protests across the region, which has not received essential supplies in two days. >More.