Three days on, rescuers finally reach landfall site Shrivardhan

TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION Raigad dist collector says damage assessment to be completed by Monday

Three days after Cyclone Nisarga made landfall, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local administration on Saturday reached Shrivardhan taluka in Raigad, which was the most affected along the Maharashtra coast.

Raigad’s district collector Nidhi Choudhari said rescue teams from other parts of the district have been directed to Shrivardhan. “The scale of damage in this taluka is very high. We have still not received reports from all affected villages yet. We are sending teams from rest of the district to Shrivardhan. Three NDRF teams from Murud and Alibag are also on their way. A 60-member damage assessment team from Uran, Karjat and Panvel tehsils have been deployed for Shrivardhan,” said Choudhari.

On Saturday, some Shrivardhan residents managed to reach the district headquarters in Alibag to report damages. “On Friday late evening, NDRF cleared trees and electric poles from the Mhasala Bypass road that connects Shrivardhan to other northern talukas. That’s how we reached Alibag on Saturday,” said Siddhesh Raut, resident of Arati village in Shrivardhan.

Kedar Wani from Shrivardhan city said electric poles, trees and structures across Shrivardhan city, Harihareshwar, Bagmandla, Kolmandale, Puradure, Dighi, Kondvil, Diveagar, Nanavali, Shekhadi, Arati, Borli and Bharadkhol suffered maximum damage. “We have been without power and communication for 72 hours. Almost 97% of structures with tin roofs have either been damaged or do not have a roof at all. Only those with strong foundations and concrete rooftops have survived. Trees fell on some of these,” said Wani. Raut said, “Beach-facing hotels have lost rooftops and windows were blown away. It will take us months to recuperate.”

Of the cyclone’s death toll of six, two were from Raigad district. “There may be more in remote villages, but since there is no connectivity, information is not reaching local authorities,” said Wani.

Preliminary assessment of damages from the cyclone across eight of 15 tehsils in the district found over 5 lakh structures were partially damaged; 1.10 lakh tree

KEDAR WANI A number of trees have fallen and Cyclone Nisarga has caused large-scale destruction at several villages, including Borli (above), in Shrivardhan taluka.