GAJA KILLS 30 IN TAMIL NADU
6 districts in TN, 2 in Puducherry affected
A front portion of the steel structure of a private shop at Pudukkottai west street collapsed due to heavy wind on Friday.
The storm that crossed the Tamil Nadu coast on Friday claimed 30 lives so far. Over 80,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas. The cyclone caused extensive damage in Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts.
Cyclone Gaja ripped through the Veda ran yam Na ga pattin am stretch early hours of Friday and claimed at least 30 lives on its trail of destruction from the coast into the delta districts as it unleashed heavy rain and winds of up to 125 kmph that uprooted trees and electric poles, destroyed crops and flattened hundreds of houses. The worst is over for Tamil Nadu as the storm weakened passing across the southern tip and turned into a deep depression by the night bringing heavy rain to Kerala before moving into the Arabian Sea, according to the Met office.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami led the government efforts towards mitigating the sufferings of the people and the livestock in the storm as he kept in constant touch with his cabinet colleagues deployed to lead the teams of senior IAS officials in relief work in the Gaja-hit districts. He announced a solatium of `10 lakh to the kin of those who died and `25,000—`1 lakh for those injured. The officials were in the process of assessing the damage in respect of crops, fishing boats, houses, and cattle, so as to enable the government to prepare its report for seeking adequate funds from the Centre to take up the repair and rehab works, the CM told reporters.
He said as many as 81,948 people have been moved out of their houses in vulnerable areas and accommodated in 471 relief centres in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Tiruvarur districts. Work on restoring power and repairing damaged roads and other infrastructure was going on at top speed, the CM said.
The storm caused heavy damage to the 16th century Shrine Basilica at Velankanni. The gusty winds caused the in Nagapattinam district. The gusty winds caused the rood cross on top of the church to break and fall. The 75-ft tall stone statue of Jesus erected in front of the ‘Morning Star Church’ in the town, sustained structural damage. According to church officials, the hands of the statue have suffered damage. The roof of the Museum of Offerings in the town has also been damaged.
Farmers’ leader P.R. Pandian told PTI that lakhs of coconut trees, plantain and acres of paddy have been affected.