Eleven people have been killed and 81,948 evacuated in Tamil Nadu after Cyclone Gaja made landfall between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam early Friday morning. Speaking to the media on Friday, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami said, "Nagapattinam district has been impacted badly. We can say only to what extent other places are affected only after getting inputs from authorities." Promising to visit the affected areas, the CM also stated that Rs 10 lakhs would be given as compensation to the families of the deceased.
The CM said that 405 mobile ambulances had been dispatched to provide emergency and first aid services to those affected by the cyclone. For those with major injuries, the Chief Minister's General Relief Fund will provide Rs 1 lakh as compensation while those with minor injuries will be given Rs 25,000.
In Sivaganga, the district administration confirmed to TNM that two persons had died in the wee hours of Friday on account of the damage caused by the cyclone. Muthu Murugan, 56, a road inspector with the Highways Department died on Friday morning after a wall broke down over him. Elizabeth Rani, 35, a sanitation worker from Nerkuppai town also lost her life after being hit by a tree.
According to a statement by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation(TANGEDCO) 12,000 electric poles, 102 sub power stations, 495 power conductors, 100 transformers, 500 kilometer-long power lines had been damaged across seven districts.
As per the 11.30am bulletin issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the cyclonic storm Gaja over coastal Tamil Nadu moved westwards and lay centred at 8.30hrs on Friday over interior Tamil Nadu. The IMD forecast states that the system is likely to move westwards and weaken into a deep depression in the next three hours. Met Department warned heavy rainfall in isolated places in south Tamil Nadu and heavy falls at isolated places in north Tamil Nadu during the next 24 hours. Kerala will also witness heavy to very heavy falls at isolated places. Gale winds touching 85kmph are likely over central parts of Tamil Nadu during the next three hours.