Thad's OK, but apparently very busy trying to get his submerged VW Polo serviced or salvaged - he's mostly on the Team-BHP tech forums trying to get ideas on how best to proceed. No idea where it got submerged, but it seems to be somewhere on the Thiruvanmiyur - ECR stretch, where some areas were flooded.
RajithKumar
Well-Known Member
Thanks for starting the thread. Thank GOD!!! I was lucky to stay in such a area where it was least affected.
Only there was a power & network problem initially which was restored after 3 to 5 days.
Only there was a power & network problem initially which was restored after 3 to 5 days.
M
mpw
Guest
nice to hear Thad is fine..
Thanks for starting the thread and checking up. I luckily was out of station and am safe. Fortunately my building did not flood inside house though the area is one of the badly hit ones. All my colleagues and friends are safe though some had their houses flooded and had lost lot of items.
I just came home yesterday after 3 weeks and the whole house is full of fungus everywhere. Sad part is one of the drivers from my AP speakers stopped working but not sure what caused it! :sad:
I just came home yesterday after 3 weeks and the whole house is full of fungus everywhere. Sad part is one of the drivers from my AP speakers stopped working but not sure what caused it! :sad:
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Cheers, all.
We live on the canal side of Palavakkam, betwixt ECR and OMR.
Yes, the worst happened: we kept it out as long as we could, but on 2nd December, with the Buckingham Canal levels rising, a wall of water burst through our defences and hit the house waist deep.
The speakers are a bit mildewed, but as far as I know I kept other electronics safe. Somehow haven't the heart to plug it in and try it! Same cannot be said for all of my wife's silk. Also lost valued furniture and books, some of which I've had for fifty years. And yes, the car is a write off. I always thought that, if were flooded, it would be a few inches: not feet. We were not well prepared.
We were out of the house for twelve days, and I stuck to the forums I had the passwords for on my tablet. We've been home now for two nights. I just got my computer working yesterday.
In a word, it has been hell, and we still have heaps of work to do.
We still have life and a house. We are a lot better off than many.
Glad to know of others here that are OK, especially if they lived in badly affected areas.
M
mpw
Guest
stay safe thad.
watch that water - boiled only please..
its always sad to lose things which one has had for many years.
I lost all my childhood photos in the Mumbai deluge. I have no childhood photos of mine left Thad.
But... am relieved to know you guys are up and running..
it will take some time maybe to settle in again..
wish all of you good luck and good health.
regards
watch that water - boiled only please..
its always sad to lose things which one has had for many years.
I lost all my childhood photos in the Mumbai deluge. I have no childhood photos of mine left Thad.
But... am relieved to know you guys are up and running..
it will take some time maybe to settle in again..
wish all of you good luck and good health.
regards
elangoas
Well-Known Member
Sorry for your loss Thad :sad:... Wasn't aware that Palavakkam was affected too because of flooding...
Take care..
Take care..
Good to hear from you, Thad. Though, sorry to hear of all that trouble and loss.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Thanks to all!
Yes indeed. I expect the beach side would have been fine (mostly?) but there is the canal side too.
Even my son-in-law in Nillankari, also on the canal side, but in a posh house they only bought recently, had the 1st floor flooded. We went there the first night, and had to wade through chest-deep water. There is no point in having a multi-Lakh generator if it is full of water, and his wife, baby son, and us, went to another relative (more wading) for a few days.
Actually, we were strangely cut off, as we had no power or TV for a couple days even before the big flood. Had no idea how bad it was for the whole city!
Yes indeed. I expect the beach side would have been fine (mostly?) but there is the canal side too.
Even my son-in-law in Nillankari, also on the canal side, but in a posh house they only bought recently, had the 1st floor flooded. We went there the first night, and had to wade through chest-deep water. There is no point in having a multi-Lakh generator if it is full of water, and his wife, baby son, and us, went to another relative (more wading) for a few days.
Actually, we were strangely cut off, as we had no power or TV for a couple days even before the big flood. Had no idea how bad it was for the whole city!
Thad, good to hear from you. Yup, it's the loss of books and other personal effects that hits a lot. In my case, it's an heirloom leather-bound 1950s Encyclopaedia Brittanica, which is still in its shelf, but I haven't had the heart to try to open it.
Regarding the salvage of a car, we were able to make my father's fully-submerged 2003 Wagon-R almost fully operational, but we were lucky to have the services of an honest master technician with loads of experience with Maruti vehicles, who was willing to work at the site (i.e. no need to tow it out to scarce garage space). We attempted it because the residual IDV of a 12-year old Wagon-R LXi is negligible compared to the value of a running vehicle, so it's worth attempting a salvage out-of-pocket without recourse to insurance.
Here are the steps taken for a Wagon-R:
1) Disconnect the battery and clean the engine bay with WD-40 and waste cloth. Have the battery charged fully from a service station (it's about Rs.200 at battery outlets).
2) Jack up the front and drain the engine oil (the water will drain first, followed by mixed water/oil) completely. Fill fresh engine oil.
3) remove spark plugs and air filter.
4a) If ECU is dead (likely if the battery was not disconnected when waters started rising), replace with known-good ECU. This is the difficult part - there's no supply of good ECUs from anywhere for most of the newer cars. In my case, I inspected the ECU, found 3 corroded pins, and I was able to clean the board and resolder the pins with some difficulty. It's a makeshift repair, but it was only intended for a few days/weeks until we can get a new/remanufactured ECU.
4b) If ECU is intact, install the charged battery and attempt to crank engine (with plugs removed) with the starter. A lot of water should spray out of the spark plugs. Keep at it until there's not much water droplets spraying out.
4c) If you cannot crank engine with good battery and good ECU, there are any number of issues that could have happened - harnesses, starter relay, starter motor, etc. You will need a good electrical specialist to sort these out.
5a) Check fuel for water contamination - it's unlikely if the fuel cap has a good seal. If it's contaminated, drain fuel (by siphoning) and replace with (say) 5 litres of fresh gasoline.
5b) Check coolant levels - you can use just plain fresh water to top it up.
6) Reinstall spark plugs and connect spark plug and ignition cables.
7) Attempt to start engine. If it cranks and starts up, a lot of water and steam should pour out of the tailpipe. Keep idling it a minimum throttle until there's no further liquid water pouring out. Check that the exhaust is not too smoky or burning coolant (can be detected from the smell).
8) Reinstall Air filter with fresh filter. Check and reinstall/replace PCV hose.
9) The rest is easy (mostly electrical - it may be expensive, but can be postponed for later).
Check that alternator is charging battery. Check radiator fan (ours was clogged with sludge and had to be dismantled and cleaned with WD40).
10) Switch off the engine, put it in neutral and attempt to push the car. If it does not budge, it's likely that the brake callipers/liners have locked tight.
11) If brakes are locked, jack up and remove each wheel in turn, and release each locked calliper/liner. Check the control arms and lower ball joints of FWD vehicles when the front wheels are out. Inflate tyres if they've lost pressure.
12) After brakes are released, reinstall wheels, restart engine, and attempt to move on 1st or reverse gear.
13) If successful, you're almost home. Drive slowly around and check that you can steer comfortably.
14) If you have steering issues, check the tie-rods and steering arm (unlikely to be a problem).
15) Before turning on any lights, check all lamp assemblies for trapped water. drain and dry before using lamps (we still have water, so we're not turning on the lamps for now - only day time driving for a few days).
16) Clean and dry interior. Check spare wheel bay and drain water. Check the seat belts, door hinges, window lift cranks. If you have power windows, it's going to be expensive to replace the lift motors and other electronics.
17) Car ICE, audio and other frills can be dealt with at a later point.
ABS and Airbags are also going to be seriously expensive - we didn't have either. Net result: working vehicle salvaged at an expense well below IDV - maybe about 20% of IDV or lower.
However, it only works if you're lucky enough to have capable mechanic(s) who will work on site, and you want to get to step 5 as early as possible, preferably within a week of submersion, maybe 14 days at the outset. Beyond that, you will have rusted piston rings and possible engine lock-up, and cranking will fail or break the piston rings.
Regarding the salvage of a car, we were able to make my father's fully-submerged 2003 Wagon-R almost fully operational, but we were lucky to have the services of an honest master technician with loads of experience with Maruti vehicles, who was willing to work at the site (i.e. no need to tow it out to scarce garage space). We attempted it because the residual IDV of a 12-year old Wagon-R LXi is negligible compared to the value of a running vehicle, so it's worth attempting a salvage out-of-pocket without recourse to insurance.
Here are the steps taken for a Wagon-R:
1) Disconnect the battery and clean the engine bay with WD-40 and waste cloth. Have the battery charged fully from a service station (it's about Rs.200 at battery outlets).
2) Jack up the front and drain the engine oil (the water will drain first, followed by mixed water/oil) completely. Fill fresh engine oil.
3) remove spark plugs and air filter.
4a) If ECU is dead (likely if the battery was not disconnected when waters started rising), replace with known-good ECU. This is the difficult part - there's no supply of good ECUs from anywhere for most of the newer cars. In my case, I inspected the ECU, found 3 corroded pins, and I was able to clean the board and resolder the pins with some difficulty. It's a makeshift repair, but it was only intended for a few days/weeks until we can get a new/remanufactured ECU.
4b) If ECU is intact, install the charged battery and attempt to crank engine (with plugs removed) with the starter. A lot of water should spray out of the spark plugs. Keep at it until there's not much water droplets spraying out.
4c) If you cannot crank engine with good battery and good ECU, there are any number of issues that could have happened - harnesses, starter relay, starter motor, etc. You will need a good electrical specialist to sort these out.
5a) Check fuel for water contamination - it's unlikely if the fuel cap has a good seal. If it's contaminated, drain fuel (by siphoning) and replace with (say) 5 litres of fresh gasoline.
5b) Check coolant levels - you can use just plain fresh water to top it up.
6) Reinstall spark plugs and connect spark plug and ignition cables.
7) Attempt to start engine. If it cranks and starts up, a lot of water and steam should pour out of the tailpipe. Keep idling it a minimum throttle until there's no further liquid water pouring out. Check that the exhaust is not too smoky or burning coolant (can be detected from the smell).
8) Reinstall Air filter with fresh filter. Check and reinstall/replace PCV hose.
9) The rest is easy (mostly electrical - it may be expensive, but can be postponed for later).
Check that alternator is charging battery. Check radiator fan (ours was clogged with sludge and had to be dismantled and cleaned with WD40).
10) Switch off the engine, put it in neutral and attempt to push the car. If it does not budge, it's likely that the brake callipers/liners have locked tight.
11) If brakes are locked, jack up and remove each wheel in turn, and release each locked calliper/liner. Check the control arms and lower ball joints of FWD vehicles when the front wheels are out. Inflate tyres if they've lost pressure.
12) After brakes are released, reinstall wheels, restart engine, and attempt to move on 1st or reverse gear.
13) If successful, you're almost home. Drive slowly around and check that you can steer comfortably.
14) If you have steering issues, check the tie-rods and steering arm (unlikely to be a problem).
15) Before turning on any lights, check all lamp assemblies for trapped water. drain and dry before using lamps (we still have water, so we're not turning on the lamps for now - only day time driving for a few days).
16) Clean and dry interior. Check spare wheel bay and drain water. Check the seat belts, door hinges, window lift cranks. If you have power windows, it's going to be expensive to replace the lift motors and other electronics.
17) Car ICE, audio and other frills can be dealt with at a later point.
ABS and Airbags are also going to be seriously expensive - we didn't have either. Net result: working vehicle salvaged at an expense well below IDV - maybe about 20% of IDV or lower.
However, it only works if you're lucky enough to have capable mechanic(s) who will work on site, and you want to get to step 5 as early as possible, preferably within a week of submersion, maybe 14 days at the outset. Beyond that, you will have rusted piston rings and possible engine lock-up, and cranking will fail or break the piston rings.
elangoas
Well-Known Member
Can understand the agony you have been thru...
Hope to see you bounce back strong :thumbsup:
Feel bad for the losses and your ordeal Thad but am glad to see you alive and kicking too. 
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Sure. It's good to be alive. As far as I know the HD600s, which are my main source of sound these days are just fine too 
Wish there was another Chennai hifi meet: they were really good, even though I've pretty much gone off buying stuff (or feeling that I need to!) these days
You might remember that my car is a VW Polo. VW themselves say no electronic spares available. Which is maddening. I've looked at restoring, with the aid of good mechanics and a friend who can bring parts from aboard --- but finally accepted that it is never going to be the same again anyway.
Wish there was another Chennai hifi meet: they were really good
, even though I've pretty much gone off buying stuff (or feeling that I need to!) these daysYou might remember that my car is a VW Polo. VW themselves say no electronic spares available. Which is maddening. I've looked at restoring, with the aid of good mechanics and a friend who can bring parts from aboard --- but finally accepted that it is never going to be the same again anyway.
Yup, most cars post-1980 or thereabouts have a lot of electronic subsystems and can't be economically repaired once they're flooded above the headlight or glove-compartment level, maybe even lower. I did get caught in 18" of water on road in Florida c.1995 with a 1987 Civic hatchback, and it stalled (probably due to back-pressure through the flooded exhaust). But by some miracle (mainly a high-mounted distributor, ignition coil and air intake), I was able to restart it after waiting 2 minutes and drive it out slowly to higher ground.
Starting with ECUs in the late '70s, which were a relatively inexpensive way to build closed-loop lean-burning engines that could meet emissions standards as well as run efficiently, many other features of modern cars (Transmission, ABS, Airbags, Traction Control, Stability, etc.) also acquired electronic controls.
It should be noted that conservative engineers like the ones at Mercedes Benz were very suspicious about the reliability and maintainability of electronic controls in the late '70s. In the W201 190E Baby-Benz, they located all critical electronics at the highest point of the engine compartment, behind the front firewall, and just inboard of the second firewall in front of the passenger compartment, along with the battery, relays, etc. They also ensured that the vehicle would start and run even with a dead ECU, though it might not meet emissions tests. Their first-generation fuel-injection systems were *mechanical* fuel injection, and ignition was with a traditional coil/distributor with vacuum advance (as with earlier generations). Net result: by the time production of the W201 ended in 1993 model year, a large proportion of the W201 190E cars had clocked 200k miles on the odometer.
(That experience convinced them that electronics were very reliable, and they started using them everywhere post-1990. A few S-class models in the late-'90s even had a couple of Thinkpads in the boot driving the headrest displays for the rear passengers.)
Ironically, the reliability of electronic controls in normal operation of the vehicle causes another problem. Since they rarely fail, manufacturers don't maintain significant stock of electronic sub-assemblies in the maintenance supply chain. They're manufactured JIT on demand. For a vehicle over about 10 years old, it may not even be possible to ramp up production of the original electronic sub-assemblies on demand - the original components may no longer be in production, and substitutes will have to be found, re-validated and the assembly re-qualified. That's not viable for a few hundred unit spike in demand after a local flooding or similar. The only viable option is to scrap the vehicle - floods in urban areas don't happen frequently in most first-world economies anyway, and the few vehicles that are caught in flash floods (mostly in rural areas) can be easily taken care of by insurance.
That math probably didn't account for climate change and floods in urban areas, in places like Bangkok, New Orleans, New York, Mumbai, Chennai, etc. The irony is that pre-electronic cars like the Ambassador or those with minimal electronics, can probably be brought back to running condition fairly easily post-flooding, with minimal insurance or out-of-pocket impact.
(A minor digression - during the 1976 flooding in Chennai, the door and window seals on an Ambassador abandoned on a flooded road were so good, that it maintained an air-pocket and floated in the water for a few days until the water receded. Coupled with the lack of electronics, that car was brought to service with minimal expense.)
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No meets are happening anywhere be it Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi or Hyderabad. Wonder why!Wish there was another Chennai hifi meet: they were really good
Yes it may not be worth the trouble.
@linuxguru, I heard horror stories about residents of Defence Colony. Were you or any of your family members around that time? How is your Dad's place?
Here's a youtube video of the flooding, shot by a colony resident a bit closer to the river, where the currents were stronger, on Dec 2nd and later:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtb6mXiaZVM
There were 2 fatalities, Lt.Col.Venkatesan and his wife Geeta, who were in their single-storeyed residence at #187 closer to the river. Their neighbours at #188A are well known to us, and they survived by going up to the terrace at about 2:30 AM on the 2nd, and staying there for a harrowing 30+ hours until they were rescued on 3rd morning.
All of Defence Colony was flooded, to varying depths - ~12 feet closest to the river, to ~2 feet above road level at the other end near Sunder Nagar, which is on higher ground. Our house got flooded on the ground floor to ~4.5 feet (about 7+ feet from road level). We retreated upstairs and are still staying there, while slowly cleaning up the ground floor (could take weeks/months to sort and dump the damaged stuff).
Military Hospital and ECHS also got flooded (the latter completely). MH ground floor was partially flooded, and patients were shifted upstairs as the waters rose.
We were not in any danger, as the peak level of the water was still 6 feet below the floor level of the first floor, and we also have a second floor terrace. However, what allowed us to recover relatively quickly were several chance (and partially planned) factors:
1) Although Defence Colony is built on the flood plain of the Adyar and had several paleo-channels of the Adyar crossing it, they're relatively shallow and the colony slopes gently towards the Adyar river. When the hydrology of the colony was assessed at the time of creating the plots in 1964, they designed the storm-water drains lengthwise through the colony, to eventually empty into the river. Likewise, the sewage went (through underground sewage lines below the roads) to a sewage treatment plant, before emptying into the Adyar. Both systems use the natural gradient to allow flow of water and sewage towards the river. While it flooded rapidly, it also drained rapidly - to below knee-depth (~1 foot) by noon on Dec 3rd, allowing emergency food deliveries and drinking water to reach by road within about 36 hours of flooding. (IAF copters had dropped a few food packets on the 2nd itself, but there was no way to distribute them outside of the few buildings they were dropped on due to the deep waters).
2) We could harvest a lot of rainwater from the terrace (actually, from a large concrete sunshade that's on top of the 2nd floor landing). There was a lot of rain until the 7th and even later, so we could fill up buckets of rain water (>1000 litres totally) for use in the two functional 1st floor bathrooms (as well as for emergency drinking water). We also had plenty of rainwater that had been harvested earlier in both sumps, but they're at ground level and therefore contaminated (despite a steel manhole cover on one of them).
What would have been very useful was Trichloroisocyanuric Acid (TCCA) tablets, also known as Chlorine tablets. Each small tablet can chlorinate 30 litres of water (~1 bucket) and make it safe and potable, though with a slight chlorine smell. However, none of the relief teams on the boats had chlorine tablets - the only relief water supplies was packaged water (either small polythene bags or bottles). We finally received a few Chlorine tablets from Corporation workers only on the 15th or so, when it was too late to be really useful. Hence, the irony of having too much water, but too little to drink. Another irony is that a chemical industry expert in our colony says that there is no demand for TCCA from Government agencies for stockpiling it in normal times, and whatever is needed during natural disasters is from imported stocks.
Anyway, there was no contamination of the rainwater even without the tablets, and no illnesses occurred for the 7 people holed up in our house as a result of drinking harvested rainwater (we didn't use the sump water for cooking or drinking, only the terrace water).
3) We had a full cylinder of LPG that had been delivered just before the flooding, so we could clean a gas stove and get a minimal kitchen functional on the 4th itself, just a day after the water receded. The ceramic lighter had died, but we could get hold of dry matchboxes and candles locally.
4) Power was restored on the 7th, went off again on the 8th and came back on 9th evening. We were able to get one tubewell pumpset repaired on the 8th and get some water into the tank, just as the terrace-harvested rainwater was reaching exhaustion. Once that was accomplished, we could begin cleanup without worrying too much about freshwater availability.
5) Grassroots commerce was surprisingly resilient, despite almost 100% of all small businesses and shops being destroyed in all areas of Guindy. Neighbouring St.Thomas Mount was not flooded up to the Butt Road junction, and those shops had some stock and could restock quickly. Small tea shops opened and push-cart deliveries of groceries began on the 4th itself. Bread, biscuits and milk were available from the 4th (maybe even earlier if you were willing to wade through a little water on 3rd afternoon to get to Butt Road). Today, almost every shop in Ekkattuthangal has reopened despite heavy losses in destroyed stocks. The local bakers are all up and running with full display cases. Peculiarly, the big corporations haven't been that resilient - there's no supply from ITC and Parle after their warehouses got inundated, though Brittania resumed a while ago.
These are all conditions that may be specific to our area and the neighbourhood, and it's likely that areas under deeper water in the southern suburbs are yet to start recovering, because they may not even have drained adequately yet. The natural drainage has been encroached heavily in the southern marshlands, and they're also on low ground. There are numerous lessons to be learned here, including avoiding an over-dependence on the automobile for maintaining supplies in far-flung areas. Neighbourhood commerce within walking distance is best.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Hmmm... in drier times, what a lovely area! I have never been there, but, nearby, there is a little "village" with a temple on the riverside. Know a poor single mum and daughter living there: they were flooded out of their single room, all lost... and the people on the floor above were flooded out too.
The girl was educated, thanks to the work my wife does of bringing together needy children and those who are willing to pay for education. Thank goodness: it means she has a decent job now and they will be able to recover.
One of scariest things in that video is the speed of the current. That's looking prety dangerous, not only for people, but for buildings, even!
Wishing we had more than single storey. That was our biggest mistake. We have started to to look into a basic, no frills, few-hundred-sq-ft 1-hall-with-kitchen and attached toilet.
Sorry about your ground floor, Linuxguru. We had just waist-high water here.
Due to having had no power for a couple of days before the flood, only our sump was affected. We used that dirty water for the initial mud clearance (it was cleaner than the inside, although far from bacteria-free, having had some flood water in it.
A scary forecast back in May made us buy a 2hp petrol pump. This we use to clear normal rain water from our garden (now lower than the road, grr) when there is no electricity, or the rain fall is very heavy. It also comes in handy for draining the sump. That has been bleach-powder cleaned, and I threw in some "chlorine powder" (granules, not really sure what) for good measure.
Anyway, no disease. The only thing was, being totally unused to hard work, mostly in the open air (when I say retired, I mean it!) I got badly dehydrated one day, was very ill in the night, and spent a comfortable half day on a hospital bed getting IV rehydrated (even though I'd started drinking ORS the day before) while my wife continued with the hard work.
The girl was educated, thanks to the work my wife does of bringing together needy children and those who are willing to pay for education. Thank goodness: it means she has a decent job now and they will be able to recover.
One of scariest things in that video is the speed of the current. That's looking prety dangerous, not only for people, but for buildings, even!
Wishing we had more than single storey. That was our biggest mistake. We have started to to look into a basic, no frills, few-hundred-sq-ft 1-hall-with-kitchen and attached toilet.
Sorry about your ground floor, Linuxguru. We had just waist-high water here.
Due to having had no power for a couple of days before the flood, only our sump was affected. We used that dirty water for the initial mud clearance (it was cleaner than the inside, although far from bacteria-free, having had some flood water in it.
A scary forecast back in May made us buy a 2hp petrol pump. This we use to clear normal rain water from our garden (now lower than the road, grr) when there is no electricity, or the rain fall is very heavy. It also comes in handy for draining the sump. That has been bleach-powder cleaned, and I threw in some "chlorine powder" (granules, not really sure what) for good measure.
Anyway, no disease. The only thing was, being totally unused to hard work, mostly in the open air (when I say retired, I mean it!) I got badly dehydrated one day, was very ill in the night, and spent a comfortable half day on a hospital bed getting IV rehydrated (even though I'd started drinking ORS the day before) while my wife continued with the hard work.
A second storey is now essential for any building in low-lying areas or floodplains in Chennai. Ideally, it should also have a capability to harvest rainfall and a rooftop solar panel installation, even one of modest capacity, just to be able charge cellphones, emergency lamps and maybe an RO water unit. It's important to have a minimal emergency kitchen, even if it's just a kerosene stove with dry match boxes on an upper floor.
The granules were probably TCCA, if they were distributed by Corporation workers. I haven't been able to locate a local source to purchase them - it's worth stockpiling a bag for emergencies. Its main advantage over Bleaching Powder is that it doesn't leave any residue, and it generates 90% of its own weight as available chlorine/hypochlorite ions. The remaining 10% is harmless gaseous nitrogen, which just bubbles off.
I knew that we were going to receive a heavy dose of rainfall around Dec 1st, by Nov 23rd or even earlier, but I had not anticipated the extent of the flooding. It seems to have caught almost everybody by surprise. Although I had stocked up half a dozen packets of instant noodles on Nov 30th, the stoves, saucepans, etc. were caught downstairs in the flooding, leaving no way to prepare noodles upstairs. That left a carefully rationed stock of dry fruits, nuts, protein bars and fruits for about 30+ hours until about 3rd afternoon, when we received relief packages of bread, biscuits and bottled water from Army relief units.
Edit: The riverside colony is probably Burma colony, which was settled with repatriated Tamil-origin people who returned from Burma in the '50s/'60s. Our loyal live-in manservant was one of those who returned from Burma, but did not take up residence there. He has loads of friends and relatives there, though.
The granules were probably TCCA, if they were distributed by Corporation workers. I haven't been able to locate a local source to purchase them - it's worth stockpiling a bag for emergencies. Its main advantage over Bleaching Powder is that it doesn't leave any residue, and it generates 90% of its own weight as available chlorine/hypochlorite ions. The remaining 10% is harmless gaseous nitrogen, which just bubbles off.
I knew that we were going to receive a heavy dose of rainfall around Dec 1st, by Nov 23rd or even earlier, but I had not anticipated the extent of the flooding. It seems to have caught almost everybody by surprise. Although I had stocked up half a dozen packets of instant noodles on Nov 30th, the stoves, saucepans, etc. were caught downstairs in the flooding, leaving no way to prepare noodles upstairs. That left a carefully rationed stock of dry fruits, nuts, protein bars and fruits for about 30+ hours until about 3rd afternoon, when we received relief packages of bread, biscuits and bottled water from Army relief units.
Edit: The riverside colony is probably Burma colony, which was settled with repatriated Tamil-origin people who returned from Burma in the '50s/'60s. Our loyal live-in manservant was one of those who returned from Burma, but did not take up residence there. He has loads of friends and relatives there, though.
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Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Yes, it is Burma Colony, and guess what I saw the young lady this morning, and she lost her job.
She has a good degree in computer science, her only weakness being English language, so she studied in Tamil medium. I know that this is not the usual place for charitable requests, but if anyone is able to help her, I'd be very happy to hear from them.
Actually, she has been working in a mobile-phone shop, but many got laid off.
She is doing a part-time MBA and needs too have Sundays off; she has some exams and can't start until 2nd week Jan. She is clever, just she can't speak English (a bit like me and Tamil ) and I'm sure she'd be an asset.
Was thinking about those car electronics. There's an obvious answer: make the damn things waterproof. All it takes is a gasket --- or even, if no servicable parts, filling with that potting compound. This isn't rocket science, eh?
Did I ask? What was all that water doing in the South-of-Adyar Buckingham canal anyway?
She has a good degree in computer science, her only weakness being English language, so she studied in Tamil medium. I know that this is not the usual place for charitable requests, but if anyone is able to help her, I'd be very happy to hear from them.
Actually, she has been working in a mobile-phone shop, but many got laid off.
She is doing a part-time MBA and needs too have Sundays off; she has some exams and can't start until 2nd week Jan. She is clever, just she can't speak English (a bit like me and Tamil
) and I'm sure she'd be an asset. Was thinking about those car electronics. There's an obvious answer: make the damn things waterproof. All it takes is a gasket --- or even, if no servicable parts, filling with that potting compound. This isn't rocket science, eh?
Did I ask? What was all that water doing in the South-of-Adyar Buckingham canal anyway?
There may be positions here in the Colony, but they're typically for part-time or full-time domestic helps, which may not be to her expectations. However, please PM me her contact, and I'll pass it around.
Some ECUs were (and probably still are) potted and had good seals. Mercedes used german-silver contacts, and a heavy rubber gasket at the connector, apart from potting and sealing the entire assembly. However, it has a weight and price penalty which people aren't always willing to pay, especially for entry-level cars.
The Buckingham canal is connected to the Adyar river at the estuary, and continues north through Mandaveli, Mylapore, Luz, etc. to join and cross the Cooum, and then continues further North. It was an important inland waterway once - in the early 20th century, my relatives routinely made trips by boat from the village 100 miles south, to Chennai and back, via the canal - it was inexpensive and convenient, before trains took over the job. If the Adyar floods, the water will find its own level in the Buckingham Canal also (there are no locks on the canal in these parts) - and it could flood 10 or even 50 miles south. What makes matters worse is that the riverbed of the Adyar has been steadily rising over the years due to dumping of solid waste. The estuary and the sandbar are dredged from time to time, but not the upstream sections. The normal water level in the Adyar near the airport is now some 4m higher than in 1980, and the flood levels will also be higher (other things being equal).
Some ECUs were (and probably still are) potted and had good seals. Mercedes used german-silver contacts, and a heavy rubber gasket at the connector, apart from potting and sealing the entire assembly. However, it has a weight and price penalty which people aren't always willing to pay, especially for entry-level cars.
The Buckingham canal is connected to the Adyar river at the estuary, and continues north through Mandaveli, Mylapore, Luz, etc. to join and cross the Cooum, and then continues further North. It was an important inland waterway once - in the early 20th century, my relatives routinely made trips by boat from the village 100 miles south, to Chennai and back, via the canal - it was inexpensive and convenient, before trains took over the job. If the Adyar floods, the water will find its own level in the Buckingham Canal also (there are no locks on the canal in these parts) - and it could flood 10 or even 50 miles south. What makes matters worse is that the riverbed of the Adyar has been steadily rising over the years due to dumping of solid waste. The estuary and the sandbar are dredged from time to time, but not the upstream sections. The normal water level in the Adyar near the airport is now some 4m higher than in 1980, and the flood levels will also be higher (other things being equal).
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