"Nisha is all over us...", I remarked casually to my colleague at office with tongue firmly in my cheek 2 days before the monstrous cyclone Nisha struck Chennai with all her ferocity.
Never one to have witnessed the kind of wreckage a cyclone can cause, my wife and I were caught totally unawares. And so were the people of Chennai. It rained non stop for 5 days causing water flooding. 5 big lakes across Chennai were breached and water poured out of them to add to the misery.
Being in an area of Chennai which had housed a lake that had been drained about a decade earlier to make way for housing plots, I was ensured the excitement of watching the havoc caused by Nisha in full glory and from centre stage.
All kinds of drama unfolded in the 4 days that we had been confined to the 4 walls of our house with no power, no communications to the outside world. Our only saving grace was the roof top of the house which we used to frequent to see how the rest of the world is coping with the disaster.
Never one to have witnessed the kind of wreckage a cyclone can cause, my wife and I were caught totally unawares. And so were the people of Chennai. It rained non stop for 5 days causing water flooding. 5 big lakes across Chennai were breached and water poured out of them to add to the misery.
Being in an area of Chennai which had housed a lake that had been drained about a decade earlier to make way for housing plots, I was ensured the excitement of watching the havoc caused by Nisha in full glory and from centre stage.
All kinds of drama unfolded in the 4 days that we had been confined to the 4 walls of our house with no power, no communications to the outside world. Our only saving grace was the roof top of the house which we used to frequent to see how the rest of the world is coping with the disaster.
Here are some snapshots !!
Flooding right in front of my house ! Waist level water for 2 days in a row
There was no telling the difference between the mini "kuvam" behind my house and rain water
Our neighbours fared no better when water from 3 lakes around the Ambattur area was released
A few lucky ones who were at a slightly higher ground
Marooned cars...
...and flooded ones too that needed manual water scooping
Work going on at nearby building that was being newly constructed 
Dogs had the experience of a lifetime
And as the flood started receding, the stuff it had deposited started showing up
Don't be fooled by the color of the water...it is contaminated to the core.
And in this water lay earthworms, centipedes, millipedes, snakes, scorpions, rats, crabs and every other creature that can give you the creeps
Elsewhere in Chennai, a school building flooded...
..., a Chennai urban transport bus met a watery grave.
Life goes on for some Chennaites...floods or no floods.
And the earth opened up right in the middle of a main road.OF COURSE ...NO DENYING THE FACT THAT NISHA WAS INDEED
ALL OVER US
