Uprooted trees, twisted electric poles and damaged houses along the central and coastal regions of Tamil Nadu stand as testimonies to cyclone Gaja’s fury. Even after a week, people are still struggling to return to normalcy.
A damaged warehouse in Nagapattinam. During the early hours of November 16, 2018, Gaja made its landfall with high-intensity winds and rainfall causing massive destruction to electric poles, trees and houses.
Ramanathapuram Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao flags off water tankers that will supply drinking water in cyclone-affected district. The supply of drinking water under the Cauvery combined water supply scheme was interrupted following power failure due to the cyclone.
Residents of the cyclone-affected areas are provided accommodation in relief camps at Thalaignayiru in Nagapattinam district. The Tamil Nadu government has sought about ₹15,000 crore as Central assistance towards relief and rehabilitation activities in Cyclone Gaja affected districts.
This photo taken from a Navy helicopter captures the extent of devastation in Kodiakkarai, Nagapattinam district. Helo sorties were undertaken primarily to assess the damage caused by the storm and to initiate relief operations to the most severely affected areas.
Cyclone Gaja has left coconut farmers devastated, felling lakhs of trees in groves across the Cauvery delta and in neighbouring Pudukottai district. According to rough estimates more than 80 % of the trees in Thanjavur district alone have been destroyed.
Members of Tamil Nadu Folk Artists Association take part in a fund raising event for Cyclone Gaja victims at MGR Bus Stand in Madurai on November 20, 2018. The artistes managed to collect more than Rs. 20,000 through the event and the proceedings were to be distributed in Pudukottai.
A fishing boat damaged due to cyclone Gaja lies along the Vedaranyam coast in Nagapattinam district on November 16, 2018. With a severity that could rival the 2004 Tsunami, widespread damage has been caused to the fishing nets and fibre boats in the fishing villages in Thanjavur and Nagapattinam. The fishermen now await government relief funds for their sustenance.
Linemen restore an uprooted electric post that fell down under the impact of Cyclone Gaja on the Nagapatinam to Vedaranyam road. The TANGEDCO has suffered a loss of ₹1,000 crore as per initial assessment.
Volunteers provide relief materials for the residents at Point Calimere in Nagapattinam district on November 21, 2018. Relief operations are being carried out by both the government officials and the NGOs.
The electric poles suffered extensive damage due to cyclone Gaja. Over 21,000 electric poles in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Pudukottai districts, and efforts are being made on a war-footing to replace them and restore power supply at the earliest.
Food is provided for affected people near Thalaignayiru in Nagapattinam district on November 20, 2018. According to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, as many as 82,000 people were evacuated and lodged at 471 relief centres well in advance before the cyclone made the land fall.
A sign board in the auto-rickshaw in Dindigul seeks help for Gaja-hit areas, on November 20, 2018. Tamil government provided financial aid and relief materials to flood-hit Kerala. The Kerala government is now collecting relief material for the cyclone-hit Tamil Nadu.
Residents protest on the ECR road in Nagapattinam district seeking speedy relief assistance on November 19, 2018. As one of the most hardly-hit regions during Gaja’s onslaught, the people in the district are complaining that the restoration of water and power supply are under way in a slow pace. Few protests took place even in the Thanjavur and Thiruvarur districts.
Relief materials for the people affected by Cyclone Gaja being collected at the Collectorate in Erode on November 19, 2018. According to the Collector C. Kathiravan, the essential items worth Rs. 50 lakh were being sent to the affected districts.
