CHENNAI, India: Nearly 200 people have died while the Chennai Airport was forced to be closed after weeks-long torrential rains crippled the normal life in the Indian southern State of Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, the Indian troops have been deployed in the State to help the civilian authorities to tackle the situation caused by the worst rain in a century.
The authorities have shut down the Chennai International Airport, causing cancellation of dozens of flights and leaving thousands of people stranded.
The schools, businesses, train and bus services in Chennai which remains to be the mostly affected by rains have already been forced to close.
The Indian media reports said that the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been carrying out relief and rescue operations, and continue to evacuate people from flooded areas.
“At least 10,000 police personnel and trained swimmers are being deployed to help with the rescue effort,” the Chennai police chief JK Tripathy was quoted as saying by AFP.
On Tuesday, the State Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had requested the Central assistance in tackling the situation. She held meetings with key officials to assess the situation and take stock of rescue work.
A high-level meeting was also convened by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss measures to deal with the flooding.
