Chennai floods helped us handle Kerala deluge: NDRF

Senior Commandment of the Fourth Battalion Rekha Nambiar said out of 58 nationally-sourced teams of the NDRF, 15 were from the Arakkonam base. On the challenges the NDRF teams faced in Kerala, she said, “We had dual challenges — due to inundation caused by incessant rain and from water released from dams. Countless arterial roads were damaged and landslides were common — connectivity was a challenge.” 

NDRF’s Arakkonam base had played a key role in the rescue missions during December 2015 deluge in Chennai. Nambiar said there were similarities between the flooding patterns of Chennai and Ernakulam district. 

“Every experience is a learning curve and you apply the lessons in your next exposure. In Chennai, the communication had shut down for three days. We learnt from that and devised four different layers of communication, which helped us in Kerala. In the 2015 floods, we faced problems after damage to our inflatable boats. Following that, our puncture repair procedures are far more elaborate and we can get these boats back in action faster,” she said the senior commandant.