India has deployed its army to Chennai, a city in the southeastern state of Tamil Madu, to rescue thousands of people stranded by the massive rainfall that has plagued the area for the past several days.
At least 188 people have died from flooding in Tamil Madu in the past month, reported BBC News. The airport was closed Wednesday due to flooded runways, and 400 travellers are currently stranded there with all flights cancelled. Over 60 percent of neighborhoods in Chennai are without power.
India Meteorological Department Director B.P. Yadav reported that Chennai has seen almost a foot of rainfall in the past 24 hours alone, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Most of the main roads in the city are blocked with water, and many ground-floor homes and apartments have been destroyed by the floods. People are wading through the street in waist-high water, the Associated Press reported. Hundreds of emergency workers are on the ground, distributing food in boats as well as rescuing stranded people and escorting them to safe shelter. Thousands of people are stranded in their homes, and patients at the Tambaram hospital have been evacuated.
The Adyar River, which runs through the city towards the Bay of Bengal, is now at critical levels, which means that the flooding could worsen dramatically with the increased rainfall predicted for the coming days.
"We only saw rains like this some 25-30 years ago when there was no electricity for almost a week. It has been raining since Monday night and there has been no respite. Everywhere you look, there is two to three feet of water,'' said Ashok Modi, according BBC News. Many people whose homes have stood up to the rainfall have taken to social media to offer shelter and food to those in need.
