Friends: I live in Chennai. People in this city, neighbouring districts and virtually all of coastal Tamil Nadu are reeling under unprecedented rains. The weather office says that in some places we have had more than *40 cm* of rain in a day. Added to that large swathes of the city were flooded and the water had nowhere to go or drain. We had about four feet of water in front of where I live for more than three days. There was no electricity. For more than three days we stayed indoor in darkness during the night. Honestly we were better off. People living in low-lying areas and smaller accommodations had it worse. The Armed Forces came to the rescue. In times such as these they are our best hope (although we did not see them operating in the area where I live). Some members of this list called me to find out if I was OK., Others might have attempted, but we lost the network! After a long time we have electricity restored and I am not sure how long it would last. I just wanted to tell you all that by and large people in this city seem to be facing the situation with courage and fortitude. And helping each other. No reason for panic. Arun http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4398-4658 http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-9925-2009 -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.