A first-hand account of the Chennai floods

By Nanditha Krishna

Dec 8 2015

The rainfall from Nov I to 30 was 1255.7 mm, as against a normal of 407.4 . From December 1 to 7, we received 531.8 mm of rain.  It had stopped raining yesterday but has begun again today, a lighter rain.

I don’t know if this is Climate Change, but I have never seen such extreme weather. This is Nature’s fury at its beautiful best!

The floods were caused by the unannounced and sudden opening of the sluice gates of Chembarabakkam lake . The waters were let into the Adyar and Cooum, and then burst their banks. Since the original channels connecting the lakes and rivers had been built over, the waters used the roads as channels, and came down TTK Road (where we live) from the river, entering our house and the Foundation campus. From December 1 to 6 there was no electricity, so…