Chennai rains, inundation: Annual affair for many, grim reminder of 2015 floods for some

The 2015 floods had killed several hundreds and had affected, damaged the lives, livelihood and property of lakhs of people.

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Chennai: “It's such a pity that half the year, we are longing for water and for the rest of the half, we are flooding or dying in water,” Madras High Court’s Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee vented his frustration over the flood-like situation caused by rain-fed inundation in the city. His harsh remarks came after the rain-fed inundation in Chennai city and adjoining districts had disrupted public life severely over the last few days. In a way, the Chief Justice as a learned jurist of high power and authority was echoing what many Chennaiites had half-jokingly said on social media - "Jan-Oct water scarcity, Nov-Dec water scares city”.

Ironically, all this is unfolding in a metropolis that had been amply blessed with three rivers (Over the years, Adyar, Cooum and Kosasthalaiyar river have been polluted and reduced to sewage channels) that meander through different parts of the city. While a political blame game has begun over the issue of who (which government ruling DMK or opposition AIADMK) is responsible for the present situation, the common Chennaiite feels that water stagnation and inundation has been an annual affair, whereas for some others, it brings back horrors of the 2015 floods.

For residents of River View Road, close to the Adyar River in Manapakkam, the grey skies and water release from Chembarambakkam reservoir bring back ghosts of 2015. Residents welfare associations are constantly discussing the water levels at the Adyar river as a matter of high precaution owing to their 2015 experience. Six years ago, after record rainfall for nearly three straight days, the then administration had released huge amounts of water from the nearly-full reservoir, which ended up over-burdening the Adyar river, which flooded large parts of south Chennai. The floods (unannounced release of dangerous quantities of water) had killed several hundred and had affected, damaged the lives, livelihood and property of lakhs of people. The released water had ended up causing inundation measuring up to 20 feet in certain parts of the city. The monsoon had already delivered good rains, but the massive downpour between November 29 to December 2, and the mismanagement that followed wreaked havoc like never before.

Umesh had been staying in a ground floor apartment in River View road, Manapakkam, in 2015, when the floods occurred in the first week of December. When the water started entering his ground floor apartment by 10 pm and he started moving some of their belongings to higher floors. Little did he realize that his entire house would be under water in less than 12 hours. Amid the raging floods, he managed to survive with his family in a neighbor’s place on the first floor for a day. Within a few hours, he and his hosts were forced to move to the second floor, as the water had reached up to two feet, even in the first-floor apartment.

Having seen mild water logging in their apartment parking area (up to ankle height), in November 2015, residents were confident that water wouldn’t rise higher than a foot in December that year. However, they were proven dead wrong in the intervening nights of December 1 and 2. Water had submerged all the cars and vehicles, so much so that, even their roofs were not visible.

Without power, drinking water and means to communicate, the residents had to literally look up for help. The then AIADMK Government had unleashed the fury of water without providing prior warning and evacuation orders, thus marooning the entire locality and reducing it to an island. It was the Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard helicopters that had air-dropped food and water for the residents of the entire locality.

Many others in the vicinity were not so lucky. An aged couple living in the nearby Defence Colony had confined themselves to the safety of their independent home and chose to remain there and locked the doors. The overnight deluge had caught them by surprise and they scrambled to escape. Unfortunately, in the urgency to escape and the darkness of the late-night hours (power supply was turned off as a precaution), the couple had lost their keys in the raging flood water. With no means to open their home doors and escape, they tragically drowned to death.

It had taken about two days for the water to rise and the same time for the water to recede, leaving behind tons and tons of waste and expensive scrap - everything ranging from TVs, to luxury cars, to mattresses, clothes, books, furniture and what not! Many were patting themselves on their back for having parked their cars at their large IT park cum office building that was barely a kilometer away. However, a rude shock awaited them. Even the IT park buildings were affected by the flood waters. The cars parked in their basement parking were swept away in the deluge that had entered the premises and remained stuck.

Residents recall that it took several days for power to be restored and many weeks to get rid of the foul stench caused by the floodwaters and the mess it had left behind. While it was comparatively easier for those in the better-off sections of society to recover from the loss, many had to bear the brunt of the loss for several years to come. 

For those living in the areas by the Adyar river, 2015 is the nightmare that they don't want to relive. However, some people living in Chennai's low-lying areas aren't as lucky. For them, this inundation is a yearly recurrence that they have learned to live with.

“We are facing this (inundation) issue for the past 10 years. The administration has taken efforts for constructing stormwater drains, but water is not getting out. We have nearly 15 streets in Baba Nagar and this issue keeps dragging on. The administration has to take some steps. Last year, pumps were used to drain the water, but now there is more rain. God has to save us,” says Dinesh, Vice President of the Baba Nagar residents association from Chennai’s Villivakkam.

"God save us" says an anguished resident, from baba nagar, Villivakkam, #ChennaiRain

In their area, #chennaifloods has happened yearly, for the last 10yrs

He says, nearly 15streets in their locality face inundation.. earlier they used to get water pumped out, but no help now pic.twitter.com/t6ZYJFwlax — Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) November 7, 2021

“We moved out of our own house, a ground-floor apartment and then chose to rent a first-floor apartment in a nearby building earlier this year. Since 2005, we’ve been facing rain water inundation issues at our locality and water used to enter our homes, damaging furniture and electronics,” says Shriram Sridhar, a Korattur resident. In their locality, among the major issues to have led to inundation is said to be the manner in which roads were re-laid without milling (scraping off the top surface). Over the years, with the height of the roads having increased, stagnated water started flowing into the homes on either sides of the road.

Generally, some of the low-lying areas in the city get inundated for a long time, even during moderate rains. However, most areas in the heart of the city are attended to pretty fast and the water is drained out quickly. But this time around, there are many exceptions. Several localities that are known for their lofty real estate prices are also at the receiving end of this inundation menace.

Ganesh Ramakrishnan, a resident of RA Puram, a posh locality in Chennai is forced to stay in a nearby hotel along with his family and his 95-year old father. Notably, this locality is home to the high and mighty of Chennai and is just a few kilometers away from the Chief Minister’s residence. “We didn’t expect as much water to accumulate overnight. All the ground floor houses in our area, including the ones that are 1 foot above the road level are inundated. There’s knee-deep water on the road and car and bikes can't venture in or out. Given the forecast for extremely heavy rainfall, we prefer staying in the hotel, even though it comes at a high-cost burden,” he says.

While many of the issues might seem to have stemmed from recent mismanagement or lack of planning from the authorities, there are some long-term issues that come to the fore during the monsoon. Several areas in the city have expanded rapidly over the past few decades in and around water bodies and lakes, thus increasing the likelihood of widespread inundation during monsoon. Such areas are prominent in the central and the southern parts of the city.

A social media post by environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman showcases the extent of encroachment and eventual destruction of a lake into a concrete jungle in a South Chennai locality known as Velachery. The juxtaposition of the earlier map and the recent satellite map depicts the harsh reality of how water bodies have turned into residential localities. It is also common knowledge that a vast marshland towards the south of Chennai had been turned into the city’s IT corridor and attractive residential area, over the last three decades.

A video clip that is being widely circulated shows historian V Sriram talking about how prime commercial and residential areas in Chennai including T Nagar, KK Nagar, Ashok Nagar etc. were once part of the Mylapore lake, which was encroached upon to meet the demands of a growing population, over a century ago. In the words of Nityanand Jayaraman, “An eri is an irrigation tank. Tanks don’t flood during rains. They fill up. If you build your home inside a lake, your home will fill up, not flood. Water doesn’t care for CMDA Approvals.”

An eri is an irrigation tank. Tanks don't flood during rains. They fill up. If you build your home inside a lake, your home will fill up -- not flood. Water doesn't care for CMDA approvals. #ChennaiRains pic.twitter.com/Z2Sl6xw1ug — NityanandJayaraman (@NityJayaraman) November 8, 2021

Barely three days after being severely inundated owing to 20 cm of heavy rainfall that lashed the city in a span of 24 hours, Chennai is now bracing for the impact of a weather system that’s brewing in the Bay of Bengal. What started off as a low pressure area in the southeast Bay of Bengal, is predicted to intensify into a depression that would head west-northwestwards, for the northern Tamil Nadu coast by the morning hours of Thursday. Thereafter, it is predicted to cross north Tamil Nadu and South Andhra Pradesh Coast between Karaikal and Sriharikota, around Cuddalore by Thursday evening, bringing extremely heavy rainfall along its coastal path. The IMD has issued a red alert for Chennai, its adjoining districts and those in northern Tamil Nadu for Thursday. The monsoon has just been around for two weeks and inundation is a cause for concern. Once summer arrives, the problem of plenty would be replaced with scarcity, as has been the experience of the south Indian metropolis.