Chennai/ Puducherry: Cyclone Thane hit the
coast of Tamil Nadu on Friday, making landfall between Puducherry and
Cuddalore that has resulted in the death of 27 people so far. While 19
people have been reported dead in Cuddalore, eight have died in
Puducherry.
After the landfall, the cyclone moved further
westward and weakened rapidly into a deep depression and lay centered at
about 100 km west of Cuddalore, the regional weather office said.
The
storm crossed the coast between Cuddalore and Puducherry bringing in
its wake torrential rains accompanied by gale that uprooted hundreds of
trees and knocked electric poles, snapping power supply in several
areas.
The tiny Union Territory of Puducherry was cut off from
neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu with the uprooted trees blocking
road traffic.
The cyclone also disrupted rail and air operations with services cancelled or rescheduled. Flights to international destinations including the middle-east and Malaysia from Chennai were cancelled following the inclement weather.
Southern Railway partially cancelled and rescheduled most of the trains between Chennai and southern districts.
However, rains continued in the coastal districts of the state and southern Andhra Pradesh till Saturday evening.
Puduchery
District Collector S B Deepak Kumar said that rescue operations were in
full swing in the Union Territory. Uprooted trees were being removed
from the roads.
Cuddalore was the most affected, with damaged
roads rendering it difficult for rescue teams including those from
National Disaster Response Force and fire and rescue services to reach
the cyclone hit fishing hamlets.
District
Collector Amuthavalli said even as communication lines remained
affected, over 5000 houses of fishermen had been damaged.
"We
don't know what is happening in the outside world. All that we have been
hearing since last night is the howling of the wind. Several trees have
fallen down. Even mobile phone signals are not proper," S Ravikumar, a
Puducherry resident, told IANS.
Some 250 coastal villages
inhabited by fishermen had been put on high alert and there was fear all
night long. Several hundreds were evacuated and taken to the 49 relief
shelters. Others have had to fend for themselves.
Jaya,
a fisherman from Puducherry said to NDTV, "I have not seen a cyclonic
storm like this ever. At least the tsunami, we ran away and saved our
life. This time we have not earned even 10 rupees in the last one week.
No one has come to our help.''
Most fishermen have suffered
financial losses due to the cyclone. "Catamaran, boat, nets, engine, all
have been either damaged or washed away. What are we going to do? They
have not even offered us shelter in a school or some other building,''
said Shankar, another fisherman in Puducherry.
A comprehensive
assessment of the damage done by Cyclone Thane will take some more time.
The immediate danger of loss to life has passed. But a question mark
hangs over the future for thousands of fishermen along the coast who
have lost or had their catamarans and boats damaged.
Chennai helpline numbers:
Chennai
Corporation - 1913, 25619237; Kancheepuram district administration -
1077, Police control room - 9445465536, 27238001; Tiruvallur district
administration - 27661200; Police control room - 27661010.
