Washington: On December 1-2 flood-ravaged Chennai received more rainfall in 24 hours than it had seen on any day since 1901, according to NASA. The space agency yesterday released an animated map that provides satellite-based estimates of rainfall over southeastern India on December 1'2, accumulating in 30¿minute intervals.

The deluge followed a month of persistent monsoon rains that were already well above normal for Tamil Nadu, NASA's Earth Observatory said in a blog post. At least 250 people have died, several hundred have been critically injured, and thousands affected or displaced by the flooding that has ensued. NASA said the rainfall data come from the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG), a product of the Global Precipitation Measurement mission.