There is no relief in sight for Chennai, where heavy rainfall has disrupted normal life, as the India Meteorological Department has predicted more rains in Tamil Nadu, particularly in the capital city and Puducherry, in the next four days.

The situation is so dire that around 100 hearing-impaired children and their teachers have been left stranded at the Dr MGR School for the speech and hearing impaired since Tuesday evening.

Reports state that the water has reached the first level of the building, causing panic amongst the children and teachers.

The children, who stay in the hostel, have had not eaten. There is no electricity in the school either.

Calls for help and appeal to the army, and even to the prime minister were made on social media for aid to be rushed to the spot. 

Schools and colleges have remained shut and exams have been postponed to January in many schools. This is the seventeenth rain holiday for Chennai's educational institutions which had reopened on Thursday after a two-week break.

Photograph: PTI