Heavy rain and water logging continued to disrupt normal lives in Chennai on Thursday.
The water entered houses, and submerged vehicles.
“We lost all our valuable items and have only managed to save our lives,” said Shanmughan, a Chennai resident.
Though the rain has stopped in Tamil Nadu, the administration is now grappling with providing relief measures to all, and battling with the challenge of spread of diseases, once the waters recede.
The Met office forecasts that rain or thundershowers will occur at many places in the state for the next four days. The reason behind the rain is a well-marked low pressure lying over west Bay of Bengal and Andhra coast.
The rains have claimed 87 lives so far. Chief Minister Jayalaithaa has announced four lakh rupees each for the families of those who died in rain-related incidents.
The next big challenge for the administration once the water recedes, is illness and disease due to water stagnation. Medical camps set up across the city have been attending to patients suffering from fever, vomiting, and mud fever. Dengue, malaria and chikungunya which spread due to breeding of mosquitoes are also being feared.
During the rains, rain water got contaminated with sewage, which could spread cholera, diarrhea. According to reports, emergency health camps will be set up at the four government hospitals in Chennai to address the situation. The administration is also distributing free tablets as a precautionary measure.