13 Innovative Solutions People In Chennai Used During The Floods

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Recently, Tamil Nadu resembled a vast and endless ocean with cars, lorries and jeeps floating in the flood water. Hundreds were killed, electricity and telephone lines cut off in many areas and buildings submerged in water.

But, volunteers came up with many ‘indigenous and innovative’ solutions to distribute items and help people in distress. Some may call it survival instinct, some profound resilience. Whatever the driving force is, they have showed a few out-of-the-box thinking and creativity to support the people.

Let’s take a look at all the solutions the Chennaites came up with:

1. Bamboo houses as shelters.

Bamboo houses were constructed by Salem Designs as temporary shelters for people from low-income background.

 

2. Mobile ATMs for cash withdrawal.

A lot of local banks helped people around the state to get cash.

 

3. A law student carried power banks all over the city.

Sriram Krishna, a law student, swam with 12 full power banks in a waterproof backpack, half-charging dead phones for people. He was named Charger Sriram by a resident.

This image has been used for representational purpose.

 

4. Distributing items using drums and tyres.

Volunteers used water drums and oil drums to transport relief materials all over Tamil Nadu. Inflated tyres were also used to help transport children and senior citizens from flood-affected regions to safety.

 

5. Not Google Maps, but Floodmap Chennai

A group started an interactive map that showed which of the 3000+ streets are flooded.

 

6. An electrician turned an old fridge into a boat, using the space inside to distribute donated clothes and mosquito repellent around his slum.

What an idea, Sirji!

This image has been used for representational purpose.

 

7. Raft boats for ferrying people to safety.

Salem Design made 25 boats using bamboo and tyres. Those were sent to the affected areas in different parts of Tamil Nadu.

 

8. Using crayons instead of flashlights.

..because 1 crayon can burn up to 20 minutes.

 

9. Purushothaman, a driver by profession, set up a rope way so people could walk through deep water in Taramani.

This image has been used for representational purpose.

 

10. Public and private banks also came to the rescue.

Apart from taking relief measures, SBI organized doorstep services through innovative modes such as boats, autorickshaws and mobile vans. Indian Bank deployed 250 correspondents in the flood affected regions and even kept their branches open on Sunday.

 

11. Herbal tonic to prevent contagious diseases.

Nilavembu Kashayam is a Tamil medicine used for preventing fever, which also has qualities of a disinfectant. People prepared the tonic and distributed among the flood-affected victims.

 

12. Charging phones without electricity.

Power supply was cut off in many areas to prevent accidents with live wires in water. A few workarounds were posted on the social network on how one could charge their cellphones without battery.

 

13. Makeshift boats to float.

Many residents stuffed big polythene bags with discarded foam and empty plastic bottles. Underneath the polythene bags, they placed a plank and created their own float.

This image has been used for representational purpose.

This natural disaster has set an unprecedented example of humanity.

Today’s floods, Tomorrow’s lessons? 🙂

Source 1 & 2