[professortarzan]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

If the corporation is to blame for taking money to give approval to construct over lakes, the people buying flats are equally to blame to go ahead with the purchase in spite of doing "PDI" and being aware of the lakes upon which they were built on.

Nail on the head! Our fellow citizens need to wake up and smell the beans. The floods of 2015 have clearly marked the spots for us, why on earth would one ignore that. Personal greed, budging in to peer/family pressure and under-estimating the power of nature, as simple as that. Stop getting carried away by "the dream of owning a home". Buying a house without due consideration just because it's cheaper or as an "investment" or just because the bank is giving out a loan is a stupid stupid thing to do.

Our electoral votes have stopped making a difference long ago, at least vote with your wallets.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by Mystic

I still remember the 2015 floods. History repeats. We need to find the root cause such that there is minimal disruption in future. In fact, I had started a thread on the same couple of months back and hope somebody in a position responsible will get to read it in Chennai.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...eavy-rain.html (Why do Indian Roads flood up so easily during heavy rain?)

Atleast for Chennai, most of us know the root cause - building on lakes, river banks and low lying areas.

The only way this can be prevented is to engineer and create proper storm water drains that can handle huge quantities of water and move them to the sea. The problem is, although storm water drains are available, they are not engineered properly to discharge the water. Here's a live example - there is an apartment in our area which is flooded. Today morning they sourced pumps and were pumping the water into the storm water drains. After 30 minutes, a few people from the nearby colony came and requested them to stop it immediately since the water going into the storm water drains ended up going to the low lying areas and flooding the place. Basically, we're all paying the price for the negligence of authorities and not keeping them accountable. Pretty sure affected voters will forget their woes when freebies are announced.

[d.w.w.]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

But there is another fact - People will queue up to buy these apartments in the coming months by looking at the model houses because it has "club house, swimming pool (oh the irony), gym etc.,"

Exactly my thoughts. If you are used to Chennai rains, a simple visit to the place will tell you whether the place can get affected in the rains. When I was house hunting in 2015, I visited places like Kamakoti Nagar in Pallikaranai. Even when there was no rain, empty plots were filled with water and you can expect how these places will be when it rains. The whole locality went down in the 2015 floods. The real estate picked up in a few years and everyone conveniently forgot the 2015 floods. I think the same place must have gone down this time too. Pallikaranai has become a real estate hostspot these days and I'm sure the number of affected people has gone exponentially since 2015.

The video that has gone viral on social media was from Pallikarani too. (puravankara)

[volkman10]

Maruti, Mahindra, Audi extend support to customers in cyclone-hit areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh.

Maruti Suzuki India said it has collaborated with its dealer partners and made several arrangements at its workshops.

As soon as the news about the cyclone 'Michaung' was reported, the company proactively sent out 7 lakh SMS alerts containing precautionary steps to its customers to ensure that even before the cyclone hits, customers could take precautionary measures to safeguard their cars against potential damage, it said in a statement.

The company said it mobilised 46 tow trucks from neighbouring cities and activated 34 roadside assistance vehicles for quick response, augmented spare parts inventory for ready availability, and collaborated with insurance firms for faster claim processing and settlement.

Mahindra & Mahindra said it has initiated complimentary roadside assistance, no-cost inspection and damage assessment and financial relief through special discount to its customers in the affected areas.

Audi has announced 24x7 complimentary roadside assistance for customer cars impacted by the floods caused by the ongoing cyclone Michaung in Chennai.

Hyundai Motor India Foundation (HMIF), the CSR arm of Hyundai Motor India, has announced a financial support of Rs 3 crore to help communities affected by the Michaung cyclone in Tamil Nadu.

The company's onsite teams are working along with state government authorities to deliver emergency relief, including food, water, shelter, medical assistance and other essential commodities to affected communities

Link:

[slango97]

Hi everyone. I'm also from Chennai. Sat through fierce winds and pouring rain; thankfully our house and our area (Kalakshetra Colony) did not have much flooding. Had to scramble up and down the stairs to waterproof the house. Water entered through every crevice, including the wiring conduits taking TV cables to the roof. Had to shut down the lift as water had entered the shaft through the ventilation window. No power for two days and next to no cell signal (except for one corner of the terrace). Had to climb onto the tank to take calls and chats.

My grandparents bore the brunt in 2015 as they were living in Velachery. Lost their car, lost a bunch of furniture and priceless memorabilia in the flood. They were rescued by boat by the NDRF. Thankfully, my grandmother (as stubborn as old ppl usually are), agreed to move to a newly constructed TNHB flat near our house this year and she didn't even lose power throughout the ordeal. Cannot imagine what we would've done if had stayed there. Entire Velachery area should be vacated and they should all be moved to high-rises elsewhere. The lake that was there should be restored. Complaints about flooding in such areas as Madipakkam and Pallikaranai cannot hold water (pun intended) when we've built houses on a lake bed.

[slango97]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Atleast for Chennai, most of us know the root cause - building on lakes, river banks and low lying areas.

The only way this can be prevented is to engineer and create proper storm water drains that can handle huge quantities of water and move them to the sea. The problem is, although storm water drains are available, they are not engineered properly to discharge the water.

Below info from my father (a geologist) may offer some insights:

’Flood mitigation is done at the most for a 1 in 10 year rainfall. Now we have received 1 in 50 year rainfall. Average Annual rainfall is 140cm. We have received 40 cm in just two days. In a coastal city it is very difficult to manage such huge rainfall. If the flood mitigation work has been done effectively, the water should drain within about 24 hrs after the rain stops.’

I think the work that was done has definitely paid off in many areas considering the severity of the storm. We need to also recognise the extremity of the cyclone we have faced, for which the infra is not designed for. And the fact that the frequency of such events will also increase due to climate change.

Even a highly planned and developed city like Singapore has been facing severe flooding in several areas. And not for the first time either.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by slango97

I think the work that was done has definitely paid off in many areas considering the severity of the storm. We need to also recognise the extremity of the cyclone we have faced, for which the infra is not designed for. And the fact that the frequency of such events will also increase due to climate change.

No doubt the work done in several areas have paid off. And I also completely agree that the work done is designed for scenarios that occur once in 10 years. But even if that was the case, water should've positively drained off by now if not a good amount of it. The problem many areas are facing, even with storm water drains, is that water that is getting drained from one area is flooding another. That's poor engineering to me. It feels like the storm water drains were built to tick off another check box for an election.

[RaghavEvoX]

Have seen both the 2015 floods and the ones happened recently in Chennai.
I agree with the comments few pointed above, that even with a much heavier rains this time, the effect was considerably less compared to 2015.
Instead of blaming the govt and the corporation, we should appreciate the amount of work put in, which reduced the severity of the disaster.

This time, the worst affected places were mainly in the real estate corridor, which were developed in the last few years (Kovilambakkam, Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam radial road, Pallikaranai, Thoraipakkam, Karappakam, OMR Sholinganallur, Perumbakkam, etc) .

These areas were full of lakes and ponds and when they are dried up in summer, used to be cricket grounds for us.
Now there is hardly any lakes and only full of residential complexes.
People who buy lake view apartments should be aware that they are built on top of these lakes. It is a risk they are taking and they shouldn't blame anyone now for their choices.

These heavy rains are not new for Chennai.
Only the flooding is a recent happening.
We cannot revert what has already been built but at least going forward, folks should avoid buying in these areas.

[Sudarshan_N]

Independent weather blogger- TamilNadu Weatherman (Mr. Pradeep John) has compiled data from past major floods in Chennai and he has posted it in his Whatsapp channel.

I am sharing this here so that everyone can look at the numbers and understand the severity of recent rains.

He has also shared his insights about 2023 floods by comparing it with past floods and I am quoting the same here.

"Was 2023 => 2015 or 2015 =>2023 - My answer is each flood is unique, one cannot compare one with another, the field dynamics, rainfall distribution and end boundary conditions (tide / storm surge) are not the same and the changes in landuse / urbanization in that 8 years all needs to be factored.
--------------------------------
* 2015 got severe rains in upstream areas of Adyar catchment (500-550 mm rainfall) as a result huge inflows came into river. Downstream areas got average of 350 mm-400 mm most of it fell in a day. The rains came in after a historic 1000 mm rainfall in month of November and soil was saturated as we entered into December. The rains in upper catchment areas were the highest of all time for Adyar Catchment.
* 2023 got severe rains in downstream city areas of 500-550 mm rainfall in Adyar catchment and upstream areas got 400-450 mm rainfall. Most of it fell in 24 hrs (sunday to monday night). This time the severe extreme rains were in cooum upper catchment 550-650 mm. Thats why city areas draining into Cooum saw water logging a lot because of elevated flow in the river. And a cyclone was staying 12-18 hrs near our chennai sea and moved damn slow resulting in river water not free flowing into sea. 2023 too came with record wet season with all time record by meenambakkam of nearly 1000 mm in South West Monsoon. In november 2023, chennai got rains almost 20-22 days and on Nov 29, we had the big 150 mm event (traffic chaos event) resulting in high saturation of soil, resulting in run off.

I would still rate 1985 and 1996 as the most severe rainfall events faced by Chennai. Even if one of which is going to repeat, then it will be catastrophic than 2015 and 2023."

[sameer sultan]

Actors Aamir Khan Vishnu Vishal and Shuttler Jwala Gutta were evacuated from Karapakkam OMR after they were marooned in Vishnu Vishal’s villa without power and network.

[SuperGirl_Dad]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

If the corporation is to blame for taking money to give approval to construct over lakes, the people buying flats are equally to blame to go ahead with the purchase in spite of doing "PDI" and being aware of the lakes upon which they were built on.

If Velachery is so prone to flood every year, how is the property prices seeing new peaks every year? When a PDI for 10 lakh automobile takes couple of hours, imagine the amount of time one needs to "invest" before buying the property. A free visit to the site to see "Model house" will not make the cut!

Originally Posted by professortarzan

Personal greed, budging in to peer/family pressure and under-estimating the power of nature, as simple as that. Stop getting carried away by "the dream of owning a home". Buying a house without due consideration just because it's cheaper or as an "investment" or just because the bank is giving out a loan is a stupid stupid thing to do.

A nice analysis on the Chennai flood of 2023. Although its in Tamil language, the picture on the wall says it all - how much the lakes were occupied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk_HMeNCy-0

PS: Not affiliated with the news channel in way. Just posting as a benefit for all, to exercise caution when buying plots/apartments.

[Raghav07]

UPDATE:

The water has receded in most parts of Chennai. Water is being pumped from all basement parking in the apartment. Still a lot more work to do

The roads without the canal beneath them are still flooded; otherwise, it looks good.

Water is not coming from taps, and drinking water is still unavailable, so you need to lift a 10-litre can 15 floors up (good exercise though).

Lifts are not working due to water. RIP Legs

Electricity and the Internet are available without any issues.

School is yet to start in many parts of Chennai. (My practicals were supposed to be this week)


Will update once the water is fully gone. A resident has posted some major problems and flaws and has suggested some solutions. I will forward that in a future post here, so you guys can implement it in future floods

Regards,
Raghav

[Krishna sankar]

The Govt. officials ( incl. retired officials ) who gave permission / approvals should be held accountable and punished severly. Now the blame game has started saying politicians have gained in this real estate growth. But without govt. officials approval, no politician can do anything.

[mah45]

Hi all
I was also affected by the floods.
Water came until almost 1 step from entering the house.
The houses behind us were slightly low, so water entered their houses.
Due to stagnant water, no electricity until Wednesday evening, and hence no water supply as well.

What was glaring is that, although water drained by Wednesday morning, EB power was not restored inspite of repeated calls.
People had to go and demonstrate in front of EB offices for them to come and switch ON ( 10 minutes job )
I am hearing so many such instances everywhere around.

Basic amenities like milk got restored only by yesterday (8th Dec) after 5 days.
Praying for the others who got severely affected.

In case TBHP is planning any drive to help the needy I would like to contribute. Thanks

[Small Bot]

Originally Posted by sameer sultan

Actors Aamir Khan Vishnu Vishal and Shuttler Jwala Gutta were evacuated from Karapakkam OMR after they were marooned in Vishnu Vishal’s villa without power and network.

My first reaction after seeing this, was: What is he doing here?

That said, I'm relieved that they all got out safely.