TIA NEWS
Heavy rains accompanied by high- velocity winds pounded the city and coastal districts of north Tamil Nadu as severe cyclonic storm “Vardah” commenced its landfall through the coast, killing four persons and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people from low-lying areas.
The storm which hit India’s coast very close to Chennai with top windspeed at 192 km per hour and has caused extensive damage.
The cyclone uprooted hundreds of trees and disrupted power supply lines besides land and air transport, throwing normal life out of gear.
“The cyclone is still crossing, only the eye portion has crossed… Presently it is calm. The entire system is expected to fully cross coast between 6 PM and 7 PM,” a top India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told.
Showers and heavy winds will resume once the eastern portion of the system begins to blow over, the official said.
Centre ready to provide all possible help to Cyclone affected states: Rajnath
Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said centre is ready to provide all possible help to the states affected by Cyclone Vardah.
In a tweet message, Mr. Singh said, he spoke to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers and was apprised of the situation prevailing their post-landfall of the Cyclone. He said, he is closely monitoring the situation.
However, the respite is Vardah is “weakening” and is expected to be turn into a “cyclonic storm” in next three hours, said M Mohapatra, IMD Additional Director General (Services).
But the level of alertness and awareness generated apart from the preparedness involving civil and military authorities has contained the damage
Cyclone Vardah struck close to Chennai around 2 in the afternoon and produced images of chaos not only in Tamil Nadu but also Andhra Pradesh.
Civic workers used hand-held battery-operated wood cutters to remove hundreds of uprooted trees lying on the roads.
Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF were deployed for rescue efforts as army was put on standby.
A Home Ministry spokesperson said in Delhi that four people were killed in the storm in Tamil Nadu, while six teams of NDRF and four of SDRF were engaged in rescue efforts.
About 8,000 people from low-lying areas in north Chennai, Pazhaverkadu in Tiruvallur district and villages off Mamallapuram, in Kanchipuram district were safely evacuated to 95 relief shelters, officials said.
In Andhra Pradesh, over 9,400 people living along the Bay of Bengal were evacuated to relief camps amid heavy rain.
Also, separate teams of personnel drawn from the health, sanitary and electricity departments were deployed for relief operations in low-lying areas of the three storm-hit Tamil Nadu districts.
The Cyclone destroyed homes, snapped power, communication lines and threw into disarry rail, road and air traffic as it crossed the coast here, pounding Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram with heavy rain and squall.
Thousands of people were evacuated as roaring wind clocking speed of 100 km an hour uprooted trees, tore off hoardings and toppled cars.
Two fishermen were reported missing off the Andhra Pradesh coast in Kakinada and the Coast Guard has deployed ship for search and rescue operations. Though no major loss of life or property has been reported from Andhra Pradesh so far, heavy rains lashed Chittoor and SPS Nellore district, affecting normal life.
Public transport came to a standstill in Chennai with buses and suburban trains suspended and airport shut. Rail, road and air traffic, official sources said, were likely to be restored by tomorrow.
Most commercial establishments downed shutters in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts.