Flights resume in Chennai after floods
Print Edition
India’s main airport in flood-devastated Tamil Nadu state reopened yesterday as emergency workers strove to help thousands of residents forced to flee their inundated homes.
The international airport in the state capital Chennai had shut down on Wednesday leaving thousands of passengers stranded, after record rains worsened flooding that has claimed nearly 300 lives since November 9.
“There was no damage to the runway. It remained under water for a few days but has been cleared now,” national Aviation Minister Mahesh Sharma said as passengers started to gather at the terminal.
“We had a few relief flights yesterday from the airport and today commercial flights have resumed their services.”
Thousands of residents have been rescued by boat or plucked from rooftops after the floods left much of Chennai, a city of more than 4 million, underwater. Power supplies and phone networks were also hit.
Soldiers and other emergency workers who poured into the southeastern state have now switched to rushing food, clean drinking water and medical supplies to hard-hit residents. But rain was again falling in Chennai yesterday, threatening to hamper relief efforts along with attempts to clear roads of waterlogged debris.
Anger is mounting among some residents who accuse local authorities of failing to work swiftly to help those affected.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the floods as a consequence of climate change.
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