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Guys please help the people in Chennai, your contributions very much appreciated..

Story
Updates (3)

As you may have heard, as of this morning, the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India has been drowning in the highest rainfall it has seen in 114 years. Chennai is 4^th largest metropolitan city with over 4.3 million people. Over 20% of the Indians from our Ross class call this our hometown - with direct or extended families still living there (you might know some of us – Ashwin, Sriram, Archit, Aswin, Sruthi, Mrinalini, Harsha, Preetha, Sneha).

We have been trying to reach our families and friends to ensure everyone is safe.

Chennai has been declared a disaster zone and the Army, Navy teams have been brought in for rescue operations. Thousands of people have been evacuated and require immediate food, drinking water and medical supplies. The low lying areas and many homes have been completely submerged, leaving people stranded on the rooftops/ terraces without enough food, water, electricity or medical supplies. So far, we have lost over 250 people to the calamity.

Here is where we need your help.

The victims of Chennai need essentials such as food, drinking water, and medical supplies. Your donation can help them get these items.

Please click on this link on the top right 'Make Payment" to make a donation! We will update everyone with how much we have raised.

Thanks in advance for your immense support and please spread the word!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at:

Sneha Venkatachalam – snehav@umich.edu

Preetha Lakshminarayanan – lpreetha@umich.edu

More news articles can also be found on these websites:

(1) Wall Street Journal: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2015/12/03/chennai-floods-death-toll-rises-modi-surveys-damage/

(2) New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/world/asia/india-floods-threaten-southern-state.html?_r=0

(3) BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34992000?OCID=fbasia&ocid=socialflow_facebook&ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=facebook

(4) Times of India: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/With-Chennai-marooned-naval-base-to-act-as-civilian-airport/articleshow/50016359.cms

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6th December 2015

Hi all, your support has been wonderful! We have teamed up with Janani Viswanathan and her AMAZING team and network with ground operations in Chennai, distributing food packets, blankets, basic medicines, milk, drinking water and other essentials. Please do keep spreading the word and help us help those affected by the Chennai floods!

6th December 2015

Dear supporters,

We've coordinated with our friends in Chennai who are directly involved in various relief activities as small groups across the city. This helps us understand the on-ground needs better and support them.

Here are a few pictures shared by Suresh Balaji and team who've served more than 4500 meals (and counting)

Makeshift relief center and kitchen

And the lovely team behind this.
Suresh and his team

More pictures and details about their activities can be found here - https://www.facebook.com/suresh.balaji.5817/posts/10207498165227884

Today, another group of friends are teaming with local herdsmen in Pallinikarai to help get food for their cattle, while another group is coordinating their activities here (https://www.facebook.com/groups/780581195381605/?fref=nf)

Thank you again for the continued support. Keep you all posted.

4th December 2015

Thanks so much, everyone! We are almost at 50% of our target in less than 24 hours. Great work ... please do keep spreading the word! Things are a little more optimistic in Chennai with water receding and power restored in some areas. A lot of people have been located and have been updated as safe. However, some areas are still water logged and rescue efforts are under way. A lot of people have lost their homes and livelihoods and the financial losses are estimated to be over $2 billion. So all your contributions go a long way!