AKIPRESS.COM - Residents clutching babies and food packets thronged flooded streets in India's Chennai on Friday, braving chest-deep water to reach higher ground or heading the other way to rescue relatives amid fears swollen lakes will spread more destruction.

After a lull from the heaviest rains in a century that have killed at least 280 people this week, another rain burst was forecast to hit the low-lying coastal city within hours. But officials said brimming lakes were the main concern.

"The rain is not a problem now, it is the overflowing river and 30 lakes that continue to flood four districts," a senior home ministry official in New Delhi told Reuters.

V. Raghunathan, 60, a manager at an interior design company living in the south of the booming industrial and port city, complained about the lack of warning before floodgates were opened.

"The authorities didn't give us adequate information about water being released from a nearby lake. Before we could take action. My car has sunk and I had to move to the first floor of my apartment."

Military helicopters dropped food to residents stranded on rooftops in India's fourth-largest city, previously known as Madras. On Friday, the defence ministry doubled to 4,000 the number of soldiers deployed to help the rescue effort.

But help was slow to reach many in the city of six million, known for its automobile industry and IT outsourcing, with some families seeking safety on flyovers. Waters were not receding in some of the hardest-hit areas. Drinking water and fuel were in short supply, officials said.

Rescue teams urged people to leave inundated regions. Only roofs in some villages remained visible. Where water had receded, masses of black mud and garbage piled up.

"We are sending technical experts and engineers who will find a solution to flush out all the flood water. It has to be drained out soon, but we don't know how," said the home ministry official, who was not authorized to speak on the record and asked not to be named.