Chennai is under water now. Residents and officials admitted that almost everyone in Chennai, a sprawling city with over 4.6 million people, had been affected one way or the other by the devastating floods caused by torrential rains. Incessant downpour in the city and other coastal regions of Tamil Nadu have broken records of last 100 years. Man-made disaster: Look how Chennai built its way to floods



The seriousness of the situation in Chennai can be gauged from the fact that personnel from all three defence services have been pressed into relief and rescue work. The city's IT hub has also been hit hard. Offices of companies like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and others have been flooded leaving dozens of employees stranded. #ChennaiRains: How Army, Navy and Air Force have responded to the deluge



Flights to and out of Chennai have been cancelled and the airport is shut till December 6. No flights have taken off from or landed in Chennai since 8:30 pm on Tuesday. Nearly 700 people are stranded at the airport and efforts are underway to evacuate them. Over 50 trains have either been cancelled or diverted due to flooding of rail tracks at several places. All operations at Chennai airport have been stopped for rest of the day and 22 trains to and from Chennai have been cancelled.(For more images click on the photo) All operations at Chennai airport have been stopped for rest of the day and 22 trains to and from Chennai have been cancelled.(For more images click on the photo)

Here are the live updates: An Air India Airbus 320 landed successfully in what was a trial. NDRF says 600 people rescued from an area in Thiruvallur, 1 body retrieved. One dead in Vellore, effort to retrieve 3 bodies in Thiruvallur. NDRF says rescue operations halted for now, will resume in the morning. More boats to be brought in. 12 critical patients rescued from an area in Vellore. Chennai has been declared disaster zone. Army has been deployed. Army Helpline 9840295100 is now open. National Disaster Response Force to rush about 600 personnel. DMK had earlier urged Centre to declare Chennai flood national disaster. MeT department says heavy downpour to continue for next 7 days. Also, next 24 hours are very crucial. INS Airawat has sailed out from Vizag with HADR assistance teams and equipment to Chennai. It is expected to reach Chennai coast tonight or tomorrow early morning. Gemini boats, specialised teams and fry ration have been sent from Vizag to Chennai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets senior ministers to take stock of the situation. The Centre has released an immediate relief fund of Rs 509 crore for Tamil Nadu. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has also called a separate high level meeting to discuss and monitor the situation. Despite suffering from consequences of flood situation themselves, army mobilized four columns equipped with assault boats and out board motors in response to communication from the civil authorities about the crisis situation. These columns are presently carrying out relief work in Mudichur, Guduvancherry, Tambaram and Manipakkam areas. NDRF has sent 12 more teams to Chennai and other affected areas taking the total number of rescue teams to 24. The weather office in Chennai has predicted more rains in Tamil Nadu over the next 24 hours due to presence of a low pressure in Bay of Bengal. Cuddalore, Coimbatore, Nilgiris districts may witness very heavy rainfall. Air Force and Army choppers have also been pressed into the relief and rescue mission. Several people stranded in waterlogged areas have been rescued during regular sorties conducted by the Air Force and Army helicopters. Food packets, ration and other items of daily needs have been air dropped the worst-hit areas. Assocham says financial loss due to Tamil Nadu Rains could be around Rs 15,000 crore. The Navy has deployed three flood relief teams so far. Navy has also launched a helpline: 044-25394240 Telugu actor Allu Arjuna donates Rs 25 lakhs as relief funds to Chennai flood. The Army, Navy and Air Force have launched a massive rescue and relief operation in what is being described the securitymen as a war-like situation. Three C-130s of the Indian Air Force (IAF) have flown from the Hindon air base in Ghaziabd to Tirupati along with NDRF personnel and relief material. Heavy showers continued to lash Puducherry today leaving localities under water and hitting normal life. People in low-lying areas are being moved to safety even lakes and other water bodies over flow.

Trains cancelled on 1st December, 2015

1) Train No. 22870 Chennai Central - Visakhapatnam Express is cancelled

2) Train No.12621 Chennai Central - New Delhi Tamilnadu Express is cancelled

3) Train No.12840 Chennai Central - Howram Mail is cancelled

Relief material being taken Relief material being taken

Trains cancelled on 2nd December, 2015

1) Train No.16031 Chennai Central - Sri Mata Vaishnodevi Katri (Jammu Tawi) Andaman Express is cancelled.

2) Train No.12077 Chennai Central - Vijayawada Janshatabdi Express is cancelled.

3) Train No.12842 Chennai Central - Howrah Coromandel Express is cancelled.

4) Train No.12656 Chennai Central - Ahmedabad Navjevan Express is cancelled

5) Train No.22611 Chennai Central - New Jalpaigri Express is cancelled.

6) Train No.22403 Puducherry - New Delhi Express is cancelled.

Trains partially cancelled on 2nd December, 2015

1) Train No 12711 Vijayawada - Chennai Central Pinakini Express is partially cancelled between Gudur and Chennai Central.

2) Train No 12712 Chennai Central - Vijayawada Pinakini Express is partially cancelled between Chennai Central and Gudur.

Train cancelled on 2nd December, 2015

1) Train No. 12078 Vijayawada-Chennai Central Jansatabdhi Express.

Trains diverted

1) Train No. 15120 Manduadih-Rameshwaram weekly Express is diverted to run via., Chennai Egmore, Perambur, Jolarpettai, Salem, Karur and Dindigul.

2) Train No. 22404 New Delhi-Puducherry (Weekly) Exp is diverted to run via., Chennai Central, Perambur, Katpadi and Villupuram.

3) Train No. 12642 Nizamuddin-Kanniyakumari Thirukkural Express is diverted to run via., Chennai Central, Jolarpettai, Salem, Karur and Dindigul.

4) Train No. 12664 Tiruchchirappalli-Howrah (Bi-weekly) Exp is diverted to run via., Villupuram, Katpadi, Chennai Central.

Picture by @shreeshareddy Picture by @shreeshareddy

Stranded patients brought on boat frm Global Hospitals. Picture by @shreeshareddy Stranded patients brought on boat frm Global Hospitals. Picture by @shreeshareddy

HELPLINE NUMBERS

Tree fall and water logging: 1913, Sewage overflow: 45674567, State emergency: 1070, District emergency: 1077, Electricity: 1912, Fire and rescue: 101

Regional Office (Tiruvottiyur): 9445190001, Regional Office (Manali): 9445190002, Regional Office (Madhavaram): 9445190003, Regional Office (Tondiarpet): 9445190004, Regional Office (Royapuram): 9445190005, Regional Office (Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar): 9445190006, Regional Office (Ambattur): 9445190007, Regional Office (Annanagar): 9445190008, Regional Office (Teynampet): 9445190009, Regional Office (Kodambakkam): 9445190010, Regional Office (Valasaravakkam): 9445190011, Regional Office (Alandur): 9445190012, Regional Office (Adyar): 9445190013, Regional Office (Perungudi): 9445190014, Regional Office (Sholinganallur): 9445190015

