Cyclone Gaja takes 20 Lives with 80,000 Houses Evacuated in Tamil Nadu

Guwahati: The passing over of Gaja cyclone over southern India’s coastal region has caused major damages to the region as so far, reports say that 20 people are dead and many others injured with more than 80.000 residents being evacuated.

People living in the specified regions which are tagged to be cyclone-prone have evacuated their houses to be shifted to safer places and have camped into more than 470 relief centres in six districts. The fishermen of the coastal region too are warned to stay away from the sea.

A press release issued by the Tamil Nadu government on Friday states the current death toll in the state along with a state of wraths of the cyclonic storm. The heavy rain, speedy winds and the landslides have led to severe disasters like damage to communication and power infrastructure. The destructions are more in Nagapattinam district.

Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami, while speaking to the media, said relief work will be taken up immediately with rescue operations already underway. CM also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the families which will be provided from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund (CMPRF).

The low-lying areas are the ones most damaged and over 80,000 people from such areas were evacuated and moved into the relief centres. Seeing the present state, a holiday has been declared for educational institutions in Nagapattinam.

Uprooting of trees due to the heavy rains and landfall caused problems like damaging the electricity supply wires for which Nagapattinam remained disconnected.

For the time being, four teams of National Disaster Response Force personnel have been already deployed in Nagapattinam district along with two teams of the state disaster response force in Cuddalore district.

Also read: Heavy Rains, Schools, Colleges Closed, Trains Disrupted As Cyclone Gaja Crosses Through