Two years since the floods in Chennai in December 2015, we look back on some iconic images by our photographers chronicling the devastation that took place in the city.
In the first week of December 2015, Chennai saw unprecedented flooding as a result of heavy rainfall. Citizens banded together to rescue others stranded in their homes as the water levels rose to alarming levels. We take a look some scenes from the floods that devastated many lives and caused untold destruction to properties.
The storm brought life to a standstill and almost everyone experienced some kind of loss. Thousands were left homeless and vulnerable, at the mercy of the weather and the charity of good samaritans.
The lack of warning of the floods in Chennai made it especially difficult for people with disabilities, who were left to fend for themselves. While some needed rescuing, others lost essential implements like hearing aids, crutches and calipers, leaving them more vulnerable than ever before.
Across the city, people found pets lost on the roads. In many cases, they were washed away, or ran out when the water started rising. Many were rescued by the SPCA and the animal rescue volunteers.
Though cyclones, depressions and storms are an annual occurrence in Chennai, some years like 1985, when former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran was evacuated from his Ramapuram garden home, or 1976, when the Army stepped in to keep the Manali oil refinery running, are unforgettable.
Chembarambakkam Lake, which is blamed for the city’s flooding, was once the lifeline of South Chennai as it irrigated 168 villages in the district while the North of Chennai benefited from Puzhal Lake. However, plundering of the waterbodies, including the lake, led to the uprooting of livelihoods and homes over a vast area.
Fishermen from Kovalam and Semmanchery helped people reach Kovalam and Kelambakkam after a portion of the road connecting these two places was washed away by the floods.
The Saidapet bridge, a part of the arterial Anna Salai went under as waters rose.
But, despite repeated warnings about poor disaster management, not much has changed in the city.
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