REASONS FOR CHENNAI FLOODS

Hundreds lives lost, thousands rendered homeless, rails and road link destroyed and airports shut, and the crisis is far from over from Chennai. Even as a city braces to deal with worst flood situations from decades. Let's take a look on the reasons of Chennai flood:

Natural Reasons of Chennai Flood

One wonders why chennai has turned into a virtual island? 
Sure it received an unprecedented rain in hundred years, the exceptionally strong El Nino which is an unusual warming of surface water in surface waters in the equatorial pacific ocean is to be blamed. 
Experts believe it could turn out to be strongest ever recorded, the El Nino together with strong upper air divergence and high moisture content at the lower levels has affected the winter monsoon.

Immediate Reasons of Chennai Flood

But reason for catastrophe flooding lie beyond, excessive rains pushed authorities to release a massive 30,000 cusec water from Chambarambakkam reservoir into the Adyar river over two days causing it to flood its banks and submerge its neighbourhoods on both sides.
Similar flooding triggers were in action in Poondi and Puzhar reservoirs and the Cooum river that finds its way through city and became one of the reasons of chennai flood.

Man-made Reasons of Chennai Flood

Mindless urban planning of city over the last two decades has made matters worst, poor urban planning in Chennai has three aspects to it

1. Illegal constructions
2. Choking of water exits
3. Badly planned or unimplemented projects

According  to a report submitted by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority to the Madras High Court, there are over 1.5 lakh illegal structures in the city responsible for disappearance of over 300 water bodies. Low lands have been filled and concept of storm water drains abandoned, which was the fundamental of flood fighting turned into reasons of Chennai flood.

Poor and incomplete Projects as Reasons of Chennai Flood

Ironically neighbourhoods that saw expensive storm water drain projects are also under water, experts say that most of these projects have been executed without incorporating crucial data on the topography or the flood character of these sites.

So on the one hand these badly planned projects and on the other those that haven't seen the light of the day such as Early Warning System to understand the run off pattern of rain water and Laser Terrain Maps.

It is not correct to state that the flood was inevitable because of heavy rains as above facts suggests that it was just one of the factor along with other many man made reasons of Chennai flood.