Cyclone Michaung: Death toll rises to 12; rescue efforts underway in rain-hit Chennai

A dozen people lost their lives in various rainrelated incidents in and around the city while personnel on fishing boats and farm tractors were engaged in rescuing stranded people on Tuesday The city and adjoining districts faced relentless rains on Monday as the severe cyclonic storm Michaung loomed over the north coastal areas of Tamil NaduEleven others who sustained injuries in rainrelated incidents were receiving treatment in various hospitals officials saidSeveral District Disaster Response Teams DDRT were formed to carry out relief work in all rainaffected areas across the cityIn Muthialpet locality in the citys outskirts 54 families were rescued and a woman who had just given birth was relocated to a safer place from Saligramam in the cityMore than 250 people from lowlying areas found refuge at a school camp in Kotturpuram Additionally 22 passengers stranded after their local bus got stuck in rainwater were transferred to a relief camp set up at the Middle School in PallavaramSince Tuesday morning most parts of Chennai experienced a respite from rains allowing officials to focus on rescue and relief operations in affected areasDuring a press conference at the Chennai Corporation headquarters on Tuesday morning Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin stated that relief measures were being undertaken on a war footingStalin mentioned that across the nine affected districts including Chennai a total of 61666 relief camps were established Approximately 11 lakh food packets and one lakh milk packets have been distributed so far he saidThe Chennai Corporation has brought in 5000 workers from other districts for flood mitigation works in the city These workers utilised farm tractors and fishing boats in flooded areas such as Periamet and other parts of north Chennai for rescue operations and distributing relief materialsResidents in areas like suburban Tambaram Ashok Nagar Kattupakkam and Perungudi complained about the lack of power restoration despite the rain ceasing for several hoursMukesh Chordia a resident of Ashok Nagar mentioned that although water had receded from the main roads in the area power supply had not been restoredPress Trust of India PTI Chennais Deputy News Editor Annie Thomas residing in Koymabedu near the citys main outstation bus terminus said Last time 2015 after three days of being stuck due to waterlogging we waded out in thighlevel water and stayed in serviced apartment for a day then at a friends place for two daysThomas added This time our apartment complex is once again surrounded by water We are on the second floor There is no power supply and I am conserving the charge on my phone as much as possible I dont know how long tap water supply will lastChief Minister M K Stalin informed reporters that the power situation was being restored in phases He noted that the handling of the situation was far better compared to the 2015 floods when the AIADMK was in powerStalin pointed out that the 2015 floods were caused by an unplanned release of one lakh cusecs from the Chembarambakkam reservoir in the citys outskirts into the Adyar river leading to manmade floods He said that the current situation natural floods caused by torrential rains was efficiently managed by the stateHe explained that during the current spell of rains only a maximum of 8000 cusecs of water was released into the Adyar and Cooum rivers from the Chembarambakkam reservoir in a planned mannerAmong the 12 people who lost their lives in rainrelated incidents were a 60yearold woman in Foreshore Estate and a 48yearold man who worked as a head constable at the Integral Coach Factory police station according to an official releaseFurther detailing the DDRTs measures the official release mentioned the rescue of three individuals trapped when a makeshift generator room collapsed due to heavy rains Additionally three members of a family were safely evacuated after their house was submerged in water in AdyarThe release also noted the closure of nearly 16 subways due to inundation and the removal of fallen trees at 60 locationsMeanwhile Minister for Milk and Dairy Development T Mano Thangaraj stated that the production of five lakh milk units at the Ambattur dairy of Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers Federation Ltd popularly known as AAVIN was affected as the factory was completely submerged due to rainfallThangaraj added that the AAVIN diaries in Sholinganallur and Madhavaram were operating at full capacity supplying milk to Chennai from factories located in other districtsHe assured A sufficient amount of milk and milk products are available while urging retail outlets to cooperate in distributing milk to consumersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever