As up to 36 cm of rain fell on North Chennai, nearly 15,000 Greater Chennai Corporation workers — sanitation staff, engineers and field teams — pumped out water through the night. By morning every waterlogged spot and all 22 subways were clear.
As up to 36 cm of rain fell on North Chennai, nearly 15,000 Greater Chennai Corporation workers — sanitation staff, engineers and field teams — pumped out water through the night. By morning every waterlogged spot and all 22 subways were clear.
While most of Chennai slept through the heaviest rain since Cyclone Michaung, nearly 15,000 Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) workers were out in the water. From the evening of Saturday, October 17, to Sunday morning, sanitation workers, engineers and field staff pumped out flooded streets, cleared blocked drains and removed fallen trees so that the city could move again by daybreak.
| What was done | By Sunday morning |
|---|---|
| Waterlogged locations | 35 locations, all cleared by pumps (official review); one report quoted Commissioner G.S. Sameeran as citing 280, with 273 cleared |
| Subways | All 22 drained and reopened to traffic by 6 am |
| Fallen trees | Trees or branches fell at 22 locations — all removed and traffic restored |
| Major bus routes | Cleared of water; most streets cleared |
| Relief centres | 227 temporary centres ready; 13,500 people given food on Sunday morning; 112 central kitchens stocked |
| Equipment | Large generators, tractor-mounted pumps and motor pumps |
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay took hourly updates through the night and called all in-charge ministers back to Chennai to supervise relief in the 15 zones; on Sunday morning he visited the command centre at Ripon Building, praised the Corporation staff for their work and told officials to act fast so residents are not affected — read more ›
Rain clearance is hard, risky work in dirty water, often in the dark. When you see Corporation staff on your street, a word of thanks — or a cup of tea — goes a long way. To report waterlogging, call 1913 or WhatsApp 94455 51913. All helplines: Monsoon Help Centre ›
Chennai Rain Greater Chennai Corporation Sanitation Workers Northeast Monsoon Frontline Workers Day 162