Bollywood’s Mr Perfectionist, Aamir Khan, was one of the celebrities rescued by fire and rescue personnel in Chennai on Tuesday, after heavy rain brought by Cyclone Michaung flooded many parts of the city and disrupted normal lives.
The actor was left for more than 24 hours without water, electricity, and a weak phone signal in the waterlogged Karpakkam area, where he was staying with Tamil actor and producer Vishnu Vishal and Vishal’s badminton-player wife Jwala Gutta.
Aamir Khan was in Chennai to be with his mother Zeenat Hussain, who was receiving treatment at a private medical facility.
Though the rain stopped by Wednesday, most parts of the city remained submerged, with heavy inundation in low-lying areas.
Amid the chaotic situation, Aamir and Jwala were rescued by the fire and rescue department in a boat.
Sharing the photos from the rescue operation, Jwala wrote: “Huge respect to the emergency services who are working day and night to rescue people like us stranded in flooded communities.”
In one of the photos, her husband Vishal can also be spotted.
Earlier, Vishal shared a couple of photos from the terrace to show his house getting flooded.
He wrote on X: “Water is entering my house and the level is rising badly in Karapakkam. I have called for help. No electricity, no Wifi. No phone signal. Nothing. Only on terrace at a particular point I can get some signal. Lets hope I and so many here get some help. I can feel for people all over Chennai.”
The fire and rescue service responded quickly to the distress call, dispatching boats for the rescue effort.
Expressing gratitude on social media, Vishal shared photos of the rescue operation and praised the efforts of the fire and rescue department.
He wrote: “Thanks to the fire and rescue department for helping people like us who are stranded. Rescue operations have started in Karapakkam. Saw 3 boats functioning already. Great work by (Tamil Nadu) govt in such testing times. Thanks to all the administrative people who are working relentlessly.”
In another post, he said: “More than 30 people were taken out from our villa community, with many old people as well. Thanks to the firemen who helped us all and are helping other people in Karapakkam... We gave them some food that we had.”
Chennai came to a standstill following heavy rain and flooding. Seventeen people died in the city due to rain-related incidents, making it one of the worst affected places due to the cyclone.
As many as 10 incidents of drowning and electrocution have been reported and medical assistance has been provided, Greater Chennai Police said.
Rescuers used boats to reach people stranded in their homes amid widespread flooding, after Michaung barrelled into the southern coast, bringing in heavy rain and winds that uprooted trees and damaged roads.
The cyclone made landfall in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday afternoon.
Rescuers used inflatable rafts and ropes to pluck people out of their homes in Chennai, a city of more than six million people.
Local media showed images of rescue workers wading through waist-deep water and of submerged vehicles. Air force helicopters also dropped food rations to people stranded in flooded homes.
“There are pockets of low lying areas,” said Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Dr J. Radhakrishnan. “We hope to clear it soon.”
But there were several complaints about the rescue efforts, with actress Aditi Balan alleging that she was asked to make way for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s convoy when she was rescuing her family.
Taking to her official X account, she wrote: “I was asked to move my car while waiting to pick up family that was walking through the stagnant water because the CM convoy was approaching.
“Government, where are you? I just went to Radhakrishnan Nagar, Thiruvamiyur. Water from surrounding areas has been pumped into this area. There were dead animals floating around. We had to walk through the entire stagnation to rescue two kids and their grandma. Meanwhile, a boat with six cops rowed into River View Road in Kottur Puram to pick up one influential lady.”
On Wednesday, she said that “nothing has changed” in Radhakrishnan Nagar and that people are still stuck there.
“Why isn’t anyone from the Greater Chennai Corporation reaching out to anyone there,” Aditi asked.
In Andhra Pradesh, which also bore the brunt of the cyclone, roads were damaged and trees uprooted as big waves crashed into the coast.
This week’s floods in Chennai brought back memories of the extensive damage and loss of life caused by floods eight years ago. Around 290 people were killed then.
Some residents questioned the ability of the city’s infrastructure to handle extreme weather.
Mr Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking Rs5,060 crore ($813 million) for the damage.
Civil engineer and geo-analytics expert Raj Bhagat P said better drainage systems in the city would not have been able to prevent the flooding.
“This solution would have helped a lot in moderate and heavy rainfall, but not in very heavy and extremely heavy rains,” he said.
Indo-Asian News Service, Reuters
