2015 floods: Memories haunt Chennai, public lament lack of fixes

CHENNAI: A decade has passed since the 2015 floods turned much of Chennai into a continuous stretch of water, shutting down transport links, cutting electricity to entire neighbourhoods and overwhelming a drainage network that lacked both reach and capacity. Disjointed communication, limited access to food and the rising death toll made it an unprecedented moment for the coastal city. For many who were on the ground that week, the scale of the crisis also marked a turning point in how the city spoke to itself.

On the night of December 1, 2015, as Chennai went under, weather blogger Pradeep John, widely known as Tamil Nadu Weatherman, found his inbox filling with distress messages. “Please save me”, “help me”, “send me a boat sir”, people wrote as phone networks collapsed. In a recent post marking the tenth anniversary, he recalled realising that night that weather communication could genuinely influence public safety.

The disaster reshaped more than information flow. It set off new volunteer groups, revived resident associations and created an informal civic network that continues to guide neighbourhood-level flood response.

In Velachery West, one of the worst-hit belts in both 2015 and 2023, Geetha Ganesh, Secretary of the AGS Colony Residents’ Welfare Association, remembers how unprepared the area was when water began rising. “It was a nightmare,” she says. “Our RWA was born out of the 2015 floods. Until then, we did not even know one another. The flood united us.”

Connectivity, she notes, is still one of the weakest links in disaster response. “In 2023, boats could not enter, and phones did not work. Improving mobile networks during heavy rain is still basic work the government has not completed.”

In Varadharajapuram, RWA federation president D Rajasekaran carries similar memories of that week. “It is better now but far from perfect,” he says, noting that improvements in stormwater drains have not erased the area’s vulnerability.

“It was Deepavali on November 9 when the water entered for the first time. And then the rains on November 30. No lights, water up to the hip. Snakes were coming in. The phone signal was weak, and it was very difficult to leave the place or reach anyone.” Even today, he says, the date brings back flashes.

Ten years on, residents who lived through the worst of the floods say the city has changed, but not enough to forget what those nights revealed.

Our RWA was born out of the 2015 floods. Until then, we did not even know one another. The flood united us

– Geetha Ganesh, Secretary of the AGS Colony Residents’ Welfare Association.