Hindsight is an excellent teacher, but as pupils, do we remember the lessons taught eight years ago? Comparisons are anathema, but sometimes they are a measure of what has been done right and what more needs to be done, to minimise damage — loss of life and property — and the sufferings of people. While extreme weather events have become more common than in the past across the world, their impact strikes harder when closer home, naturally. Only eight years ago did Chennai have a terrible northeast monsoon; several weather events in November and December set the bar low for Chennai, as extensive devastation wrecked most parts of the city. As a result, every monsoon will invoke the spirit and memories of 2015, every spell of massive rain/flooding in the city will be compared to the dark days of 2015.
We could have allowed hindsight to gain an advantage this time, with cyclone Michaung. Maybe we did, in some ways, in some parts of the city. But Michaung, too, as different as it was from the rain of 2015, affected the city in eerily similar ways.
Here are some of the things that were done right; and then there are issues that need the urgent attention of the government, a crucial oversight of issues that are traditionally left in the realm of local bodies: corporations, municipalities, and panchayats.
