After a brief respite, torrential rains continue to batter Chennai, on India’s Southeastern coast. How is the situation affecting manufacturing and logistics in one of India’s tech hubs?
Updates: Chennai Rains
12/2/15, 10:10AM PST
- Chennai’s airport is to remain closed through this Sunday, 12/6.
12/1/15, 10:10 AM PST
- To find out which areas of Chennai are flooded, you can consult this crowdsourced map.
- Torrential rains are expected to inundate Chennai over the next three days. Many businesses have been forced to close.
- All flight operations have been suspended until further notice. Chennai’s airport has flooded and planes are unable to take off or land.
- A large number of train services to and from Chennai have also been suspended, and road flooding and collapses have stranded autos.
- Our sources report that several factories and plants have closed until further notice.
- Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister Jayalalithaa stated that “The rain that was meant to be spread out over the monsoon months has poured in just a few days.”
About Chennai
- Chennai is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, and a bustling tech hub with strong ties to the auto, software, and petrochemical industries.
- It is the 4th largest city in India, hosting manufacturing for corporations like Dell, Nokia, Motorola, Cisco, Samsung, Flextronics and Foxconn.
- Chennai also leads in India’s healthcare, and is the second-leading city for IT and IT services (behind Bangalore).
- Why does Chennai flood? According to Quartz, it’s a combination of Chennai’s flat landscape and degradation of its wetlands, which used to serve as a natural flood barrier.