At least 22 people have lost their lives in Tamil Nadu as the coastal stretch from Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam bore the brunt as a severe cyclone made landfall early on Friday morning.

The severe cyclone also caused severe damage to communication and power infrastructure, mainly in the Nagapattinam district.

WIDESPREAD DAMAGE

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami said the families of the deceased will be provided a solatium of ₹10 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund.

Over 80,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas and have been moved into more than 470 relief centres in six districts, and fishermen were warned to stay away from the sea.

A holiday has been declared for educational institutions in Nagapattinam. Rains lashed Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, and Thanjavur, uprooting trees in several regions.

Electricity supply was disconnected in Nagapattinam and several other coastal regions in view of the cyclone’s landfall as a precautionary measure, officials said. Four teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been already deployed in Nagapattinam district, while two teams of the State disaster response force are in Cuddalore district.

The heavy to very heavy rain belt associated with erstwhile severe cyclone Gaja will migrate from interior Tamil Nadu on Saturday.

The North-East monsoon was ‘vigorous’ over Tamil Nadu during the 24 hours ending on Friday morning after ‘Gaja’ blasted in as a severe cyclone.

Not only did it cross the coast as a severe cyclone, it retained the status as such for more than five hours over land before winding down as a cyclone.

It took another six hours for it to weaken into a deep depression and lay 80 km north-west of Madurai at 11.30 am. The India Met Department (IMD) expected it to become a depression by the evening.

It would have weakened further into a well-marked low-pressure area by early on Saturday morning by when it should have crossed Kerala into the South-East Arabian Sea off Lakshadweep.

Rainfall occurred at most places over Tamil Nadu; at a few places over Kerala and

Rayalaseema, and at isolated places over coastal Andhra Pradesh and south interior Karnataka.

The outlook for Saturday said rainfall is likely at most places with heavy falls at a few places and very heavy rain at isolated places over South Interior Tamil Nadu.

It will be heavy at isolated places over North Interior Tamil Nadu. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is indicated over adjoining Kerala on Saturday.

Since the ‘Gaja’ remnant could be lurking in the South-East Arabian Sea and also undergoing intensification, moderate to heavy rain is forecast for Lakshadweep on the same day. A high wind alert was issued on Friday for interior Tamil Nadu with squally winds speeding up to 60 kmh and gusting to 70 kmh.

It would gradually decrease becoming squally winds reaching 50 kmh and gusting to 60 kmh. Strong winds of speed of up to 40 kmh and gusting to 50 kmh are likely along and off the Kerala coast for next two days.

Along with the squally weather, sea conditions will be rough along and off the Kerala coast from Friday and into the next two days.

Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the Arabian Sea along and off the Kerala coast from during this period.

Meanwhile, the IMD said on Friday that a cyclonic circulation over the Malay peninsula and adjoining equatorial Indian Ocean may set up a fresh ‘low’ in central parts of the South Bay of Bengal by Sunday. Its outlook from November 21 to 23 signalled fairly widespread to widespread rain for Tamil Nadu and adjoining south peninsular India with intense rainfall activity over Tamil Nadu.

Forecasters are also watching with interest a likely typhoon (cyclone) developing over the North-West Pacific crossing over into the Gulf of Thailand en route to the South-East Bay of Bengal late next week.

The US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre believes that the system has everything going for it in terms of the potential for intensifying over the North-West Pacific/South China Sea over the next three days.

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