On 2nd of Dec. India woke up to watch dejected, Â traumatized, hopeless faces of innocent people of Chennai.Â
Everything was absolutely fine till 30th Nov. I posted my last post on WordPress and went to school in the morning, came back, felt happy to see the pictures of the couple, both are dear friends, enjoying in Mumbai. They were to leave Chennai within few days. All their stuff was packed and they had gone to Mumbai for a couple of days to do initial formalities before shifting finally.
God had different plans for them. On the very first day of Dec. Chennai recorded 374mm rainfall and it was supposed to continue for the week, declared weather forecast.
The scene was changed by the evening and Chennai was set to face its worst floods in 100 years.
As  I watched the mind numbing pictures on TV and scary scale of disaster unfolding, I felt so worried for my friends out there in Chennai. Army cantonment was submerged in water along with the entire city.
Within no time the sad news started pouring in through facebook and whatsapp. The senior couple had lost everything in destructive floods. Their ground floor house was totally ravaged by floods and the material devastation was beyond control. Here are some of the pics shared by them on fb.
This was bound to happen. Innocent people had to pay the price for poor management. Another natural disaster occurred due to the reckless development. Army and Indian Air Force saved many lives and done outstanding rescue work but many are still missing. No news from friends whose children were staying in Chennai hostels, another senior gentleman and his wife could not be evacuated in time. May their soul rest in peace.
While officials at the India Meteorological Department have said the exceptionally strong El Niño, along with a rare “coincidence of various factorsâ€, has resulted in the heavy rain, there’s no denying that Chennai has failed in maintaining an effective storm water drainage system.
In times when the city, and its suburbs, is being pounded with rainfall exceeding normal limits by over three times, a drainage system that isn’t functional, creeks and culverts that are blocked due to excessive dumping of garbage as well as the administration’s failure to ensure timely desilting.
– See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/chennai-floods-rains-jayalalithaa-imd-reasons-rescue-news-updates/#sthash.N2j5PxDD.dpuf
With receding waters, Chennai is battling hard to pick up pieces of life but another spell of heavy showers were enough to revive the ghost of flooding. Â Lakhs of people in the worst-hit areas are facing acute short supply of food items, water, electricity and other essential things to survive. We are busy helping our community, whatever little bit we can do from here. For last ten days I couldn’t blog so for them who missed me and inquired about my well-being, thank you so much. I am safe and sound with my family. Felt humbled and touched. See you soon with new posts.Â
20 Responses
I noticed you went missing, but thought you might be on one of your travels. I am so sorry to read this Chennai I believe was once called Madras and is one of the largest cities in India. Floods are one of the worst things that can happen, people losing their lives and the destruction of property. My youngest son once helpedin flooded areas in part of Switzerland when he was doing army service and he said it is hard to imagine the damage water can do. He was involved in the clearing up operations. It was at a smaller scale than in India, but even that was worst. My heart goes out to the people of Chennai.
Since we have heard the news we have been busy in reaching out to our friends & other officers posted there. Loss of life, cattle and property has been so shocking.
Reblogged this on SERENDIPITY and commented:
Yesterday, in the midst of the busyness that seems to be an inevitable part of this season, I noticed that Rashmi of Soul & Spirit, hadn’t been by in a long time. I’m used to her going silent for a week or a few days at a time. Her life, with a military husband, has her on the road and moving around more than most people. But this was a particularly long silence … 12 days of silence.
So … recognizing my tendency to lose track of time and become completely absorbed in my moment — forgetting that other people are entwined in their own problems — I wrote her to find out what was going on and if she was okay.
She is okay, if by okay you mean alive. Not okay, because the area in which she is currently residing has been hit by epic floods, the worse in living memory. There has been much loss of life. Many people are homeless, so that even those who have survived have lost everything.
You can find out a lot about it by Googling “Chennai floods 2015.” It has been in the news in the U.S. too, but speaking of self-involvement, it hasn’t gotten much play in the press. Here’s the articles from Wikipedia and there is much more online.
This note from Rashmi gives a more personal picture.
“In our part of world Chennai floods have created havoc. Two of my friends have lost everything in the devastation. Their house was submerged, dogs drowned. Somehow, they were evacuated in time, save by a timely alert. A colonel & his wife could not be saved. We knew the couple and the news came as a shock. Army camp was badly affected. One of my friend’s son has not yet been traced; he was in one of Chennai’s hostels. We have an intuition they are going to receive only his body. Things are worst for the victims and there are so many. I’m feeling so sad. I’ll be back in a day or two.
Thank you so much for the concern. It reminded me I haven’t talked to my fellow bloggers for more than 10 days. Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts. It means a lot, I swear.
Regards, Rashmi.”
Speechless. No words can express
Speechless. No words can express the gratitude. Feeling emotional. I think I blog because of wonderful people like you. So fortunate to have you as my well-wisher.
My Wife, Marilyn, has passed on the news of your ordeal. You, your family and friends are in our thoughts.
I have read the post and touched by the kind gesture. Thanks for being there and extend the support. Today I desperately want to meet this kind, wonderful couple in person. Stay blessed.
Is it your friends who were to be posted to Mumbai who lost their lives? I’m so sad for you and your friends and all who have suffered. It seems as though these freak events of weather are occurring more and more frequently.
No no, the ones who got posted to Mumbai are safe, sound and their children & dogs were evacuated timely by army while they were in Mumbai for a short trip. By the time they reached Channai there house was ravaged by floods. Thankfully family is safe. The other couple couldn’t be saved & were drowned. Man has to pay the price for his selfish deeds. Nature teaches us in her own strange ways.
I said exactly this in the post a few days ago where they asked what we would change about nature if we could. I think we’ve done enough changing..Now we need to change back, but that is impossible given the world’s population and the greed of a few–including leaders and governments. The city of Guadalajara is bankrupt! Imagine. The second largest city in Mexico. I hope the Channai tragedy creates impetus for them to solve the drainage problems in the town.
Let’s hope so. Please share the link of the post you mentioned.
My prayer for the people of Channai and hope this time the government takes some serious action to protect the city from flood.
High hopes Lekha. Politicians have thick skin and it’s fool on our part to expect something from them.
Rashmi,
I came searching for your blog by typing in soulnspirit and came here because I missed reading your posts for sometime. As I have not been regular myself, I thought I must have missed your posts. Imagine my surprise when I read you were directly affected/involved in the devastating floods.
As you rightly said – Man and nature must live in harmony. I read that the CM of Chennai distributed a lot of household goods for the elections but not much done for the suffering people . It was the common man that helped others during this disaster. Man’s goodness came through during this time. I am sorry for your losses and hope that this serves as a warning about future disasters to come in many cities of the world.
Susie
I hope world learns from the destruction and I think we must do sustainable development. Thank you for the concern and yes, politicians always play safe and dirty.
I have been reading the news too, and it’s really sad to see the city heavily flooded. It’s like nature telling us, it’s payback time for not respecting her. I understand that the rains and waters have subsided but now it’s the cleaning and salvaging part. Outbreak of diseases could happen. Pray for Chennai.
So true. Challenges are many and resources are less. Let’s pray together.
I am very saddened by this horrible torrential rain and lack of drainage causing disastrous results, Rashmi. I am including all in Chennai in my prayers since everyone was effected one way or another. Take care my dear friend! Hugs, Robin
Thank you so much for your support and wishes Robin. The floods were worst and created havoc. Hope All will be fine soon.