After a dry day on Thursday, residents of Madurai woke up to a wet spell on Friday morning. Thanks to the impact of cyclone Gaja.
With an overnight incessant drizzle, the district administration declared holiday for all schools and colleges. As the day progressed, the drizzle got stronger, accompanied by a strong wind. The sky remained overcast and both the drizzle and wind got stronger. Several trees were uprooted in various parts of the district.
Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan said that three tiled-roof houses belonging to one Palanisamy and his brother were damaged after a tree fell down on the houses at Kottampatti. However no one was injured
As many as 48 trees were uprooted in various parts of the district. Six trees were uprooted on Melur-Natham Road, three on Alagarkoil-Melur Road, and three at a school in Veerapandi.
The police had formed four rescue teams. Besides, three special teams with police constables trained in disaster management, along with required machinery, were formed. Besides, 40 police personnel were kept ready in all the seven sub-divisions, he said. The police team had removed all the 48 trees that had fallen due to the cyclone. Fire and Rescue Services personnel had removed 23 trees, including 12 in the city.
The strong wind also pulled down/tore flex boards. It also pushed down iron barricades put up by the police to regulate traffic at many spots. Traffic on city roads was thin as most of the two-wheelers remained off road and very few passengers travelled in buses.
With the visibility getting reduced to a little over 50 metres, all vehicles on the highways were seen moving at a slow speed. Almost all vehicles had their headlights on and many of them had their parking lamps on as a precautionary measure.
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