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Army, Chennai residents and social media keep flood rescue ops going
Personnel from the army, navy and NDRF, Chennai residents and people on social media have been keeping the rescue momentum going even as the Met department predicted that the current bout of rain is set to continue over the next few days.
Personnel from the army, navy and NDRF, Chennai residents and people on social media have been keeping the rescue momentum going even as the Met department predicted that the current bout of rain is set to continue over the next few days.
Soldiers reached Tamil Nadu on Wednesday to join relief and rescue efforts in the flood-ravaged regions, with officials saying up to 65 stranded people were rescued by afternoon. More troops from Bengaluru are expected to join the the efforts.
In another rescue operation, officials said they helped 15 people stuck in a bus due to flooded roads.
Chennai police chief JK Tripathy also said as many as 10,000 police personnel and trained swimmers have been added to the growing body of rescuers.
Read: Chennai suffers record-shattering rain, thousands stranded
In the suburban areas where flooding submerged lower levels of buildings, people were forced to seek shelter at higher ground, finding help from neighbours, families and even shopping malls. Popular establishments like the Phoenix mall and Satyam Cinemas are offering their premises for the night, but people have to carry along an ID proof for security reasons.
Read: In waterlogged Chennai, Ola sending boats to help people out
Constant updates by kith and kin on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp have been helping in spreading the word on accessible roads and services aside from flagging help for those stuck in flooded areas.
IT companies have also been organising food for their employees stranded at offices near Adyar where the Adyar river has nearly submerged the Saidapet bridge.
Read: In troubled waters: Chennaites use Twitter to help the rain-hit
In many areas, people could be seen wading through the waters on makeshift boats of empty barrels.
Social media has been inundated with people offering to recharge mobile credit for anybody in need, a call that was later taken up by Paytm as well.
Two flood rescue and relief columns comprising troops from the Garrison Infantry Battalion and Engineer units were active in the Tambaram, Mudichur, Manipakam, Guduvancheri and Urapakkam areas of Chennai through the day.
Thousands of passengers who were left stranded at the flood-hit international airport were being evacuated as well.
Read: Airtel offers minimum balance of Rs 30 to rain-hit Chennai users
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed rescue operations in a meeting with senior Union ministers including Rajanth Singh and Venkaiah Naidu, and ordered rescue teams and paramilitary forces to launch an extensive relief and rescue operation in Chennai.
