Learnings from Chennai

As rescue boats retreat from the flooded streets and crocodiles return to their habitat, a pressing question remains: What about our focus on urban planning?

Stranded in Chennai, as Cyclone Michaung played its part, was all about rescheduling travel plans, coping with long hours of power cuts, and struggling to send WhatsApp messages and emails as internet connectivity turned patchy. For this writer, it was also an opportunity to observe how the many key players responded and reacted to the crisis.

Most airlines took time to inform passengers about flight cancellations on December 4, the day Chennai was knee-deep in water, even though the airport had already been announced as closed till 9 pm and then extended to 11 am the following day. The delay in