Report of 6 Dec 2015
Good evening -
Water on the roads, in the pond in the apartment complex, roads damaged - the floods in Chennai have wrought havoc. Much of this is due to the fact that there has been rampant and unregulated construction, so water bodies which would historically sop up surplus rain water no longer exist. Thus, the water was everywhere - on roads, in people's homes, in schools and colleges, on low-lying ground. Everywhere.
We had no electricity for 3 days and the apartment complex's generator worked overtime. There were also no phone lines functional and the internet was completely off.
Access to a path to get to those in need was difficult. I felt restless sitting here and tried to get to Kovalam when the rains abated. The connecting road (over backwaters) is 3 miles away and that journey, over badly damaged roads, took 20 minutes. After getting there, we found that the connecting road had been washed away and no vehicles were allowed that way. So we came back and Scott vetoed the longer, more circuitous route. We stayed home, and donated some cash to the effort that younger, more energetic neighbors were in, to cook food for 2000 stranded folks. I am getting more antisocial as I age, thus could not partake of the cutting, preparing and cooking as I would have done 30 years ago.
The logistics were the challenge. Roads are so badly damaged that we could not get anywhere and were happy to see plenty of volunteers in rescue and relief efforts. I did plough into standing water last week, but was uncertain of whether there was a road underneath or large potholes. We simply could not risk it this time, after more rains - prudence had to take a front seat.
We got kind enquiries from relatives and friends asking how we were. My aunt from Mysore invited us to go there and that was heart-warming. Isn't it funny how the spoken word and sincere concern can make any situation bearable. Perhaps this is why many patients at the B choose to stay with us, instead of going home to their families: they find their relatives sometimes unspeakably cruel. Our biggest weapons are indeed our mouths.
Well, I have been told that the circuitous route to Kovalam might be functional tomorrow. I will hope for the best as we plough there. Scott was smart enough to stock drinking water and fill our vehicle with petrol, so that is one less concern. Or two.
Unw -
R
Water on the roads, in the pond in the apartment complex, roads damaged - the floods in Chennai have wrought havoc. Much of this is due to the fact that there has been rampant and unregulated construction, so water bodies which would historically sop up surplus rain water no longer exist. Thus, the water was everywhere - on roads, in people's homes, in schools and colleges, on low-lying ground. Everywhere.
We had no electricity for 3 days and the apartment complex's generator worked overtime. There were also no phone lines functional and the internet was completely off.
Access to a path to get to those in need was difficult. I felt restless sitting here and tried to get to Kovalam when the rains abated. The connecting road (over backwaters) is 3 miles away and that journey, over badly damaged roads, took 20 minutes. After getting there, we found that the connecting road had been washed away and no vehicles were allowed that way. So we came back and Scott vetoed the longer, more circuitous route. We stayed home, and donated some cash to the effort that younger, more energetic neighbors were in, to cook food for 2000 stranded folks. I am getting more antisocial as I age, thus could not partake of the cutting, preparing and cooking as I would have done 30 years ago.
The logistics were the challenge. Roads are so badly damaged that we could not get anywhere and were happy to see plenty of volunteers in rescue and relief efforts. I did plough into standing water last week, but was uncertain of whether there was a road underneath or large potholes. We simply could not risk it this time, after more rains - prudence had to take a front seat.
We got kind enquiries from relatives and friends asking how we were. My aunt from Mysore invited us to go there and that was heart-warming. Isn't it funny how the spoken word and sincere concern can make any situation bearable. Perhaps this is why many patients at the B choose to stay with us, instead of going home to their families: they find their relatives sometimes unspeakably cruel. Our biggest weapons are indeed our mouths.
Well, I have been told that the circuitous route to Kovalam might be functional tomorrow. I will hope for the best as we plough there. Scott was smart enough to stock drinking water and fill our vehicle with petrol, so that is one less concern. Or two.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
3:06 AM
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