Three long months have passed since the heaviest rainfall in over a century inundated the bustling city of Chennai and its surrounding South Indian plains.

For Chennai native Charu however, harrowing memories of damage the disaster brought to its 4.8 million inhabitants continue to flood her mind.

“There was a father and son whose house was flooded. We stood in the waters for hours until we managed to get a boat for them,” recalled the Personal Assistant in Temasek’s Chennai office.

“It was only after my son and I brought them to safety that we realised that we were in danger of drowning ourselves. The water level actually grew to become neck deep. I even forgot I could not swim properly,” she said with a shudder.

Added Associate Director Ved Prakash, also from the Chennai office: “It was a frustrating period for all of us as we had no access to the official news channels. What made it worse were the widely circulating rumours that the rain wasn’t going to stop.”

By the time the rain finally ceased on 14 December 2015, more than 500 people had lost their lives, with over 10,000 evacuated from their homes and millions left without basic access to sanitation and clean water.

The city flooded in late November till early December

Amongst those like Ved and Charu fortunate enough to have been spared the worst of the disaster, many wondered aloud how much else needs to be done.

For starters, Charu decided to help run a food camp catering to the thousands of waterlogged households with simply no access to essentials. Rallying the rest of their colleagues from the Mumbai office who had readily contributed money, she and her colleagues prepared about 10,000 packets of cooked food every day for the first week of the disaster. Blankets, mats and medicines were also given away.

Volunteers helping to pack food for distribution

Huge pots to cook the thousand packets of food

Items in a starter-kits

Blankets for distribution

The experience, as Charu admitted, was ‘overwhelming’. Getting to the affected areas was a feat as roads in the city were flooded and hence, inaccessible. ‘When we finally got there, people were desperate so it was hard to control the crowd. We were emotionally shaken up, she said.”

As the situation gradually improved in December, our Chennai colleagues started providing and distributing post-disaster survival kits including rice and kitchen utensils to 300 low income families.

During this period, monetary donations also poured in Temasek’s headquarters office in Singapore.

After spending some time understanding the needs of the community, Ved shared that the team decided to zero down on the Little Flower School for the Blind, a residential school which houses 927 students. The school was badly hit by the floods and lost hearing aids, special desks and benches, Braille printers and computers.

 “All our equipment like the braille printers were spoilt. Our files and records were also swept away by the floodwaters. We are incredibly grateful for the generous help that Temasek provided us in our critical time of need,” shared A. Margaret , the school’s headmistress.

Little Flower School for the Blind after the flood

100 days has passed since the floods struck. The city has since returned to normalcy, with the Little Flower School for the Blind back to being fully functional.

Many other though, including some of Charu’s relatives whose homes were washed away in the flood, are still slowly stitching their lives back together.

Students at Little Flower School for the Blind learning computer with JAW software

Visually-impaired students learning the basics of cooking

Reflecting on the ordeal the city suffered in the past three months, Ved was sanguine about what he had personally experienced.

“It was our first time experiencing such a grave situation but I saw people all over the city that had provisions sharing and helping out one another,” said the 32-year-old father of one.

“I believe Chennai will grow stronger having overcome this.”