Cyclone Thane crosses Tamil Nadu coast, 18 dead; leaves Andhra unscathed

Severe cyclonic storm 'Thane' today claimed 18 lives as it hit the Tamil Nadu coast, leaving a trail of destruction and throwing life out of gear in Cuddalore district and neighbouring Union Territory of Puducherry. Cuddalore, about 170 km from here on the east coast, bore the brunt of the cylocnic fury, accounting for nine deaths, Puducherry seven and Chennai two in rain-related incidents such as wall collapse and electrocution, officials said.

'Thane' crossed the coast between Cuddalore and Puducherry bringing in its wake torrential rains accompanied by gale that uprooted hundreds of trees and electric poles, snapping power supply in several areas. The tiny Puducherry was cut off from neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu with the uprooted trees blocking road traffic.

After the landfall, Thane moved further westward and weakened rapidly into a deep depression and lay centered at about 100 km west of Cuddalore, the regional weather office here said. "The system is likely to move westwards and weaken further," it said forecasting heavy rainfall for the next 12-24 hours in different parts of the state and Puducherry and advised fishermen against venturing into sea due to rough conditions.

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa sanctioned a sum of Rs 150 crore towards immediate relief works including putting back in shape the infrastructure which has taken a hit and directing four of her cabinet colleagues to visit affected districts to oversee relief work.

'Thane' leaves Andhra Pradesh coast unscathed

After keeping everyone in Andhra Pradesh on toes for the last two days, Cyclone Thane subsided this evening. Only two tehsils in the coastal Nellore district received 9.8 cm of rain, while 174 other tehsils received moderate rains, state Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy said.

Briefing reporters after a review meeting this evening, Raghuveera said the sea had calmed and no damage to property or casualties had been reported. "By God's grace, there is no loss of life or property anywhere. Everything is returning to normal," he said.

However, all relief teams, including the National Disaster Response Force, have been asked to remain on alert for another day and fishermen too have been advised not to venture into the sea for one more day.

Cyclone Thane: Jayalalithaa allots Rs 150 cr for immediate relief

Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa on Friday alloted Rs 150 crore for immediate relief measures and directed four ministers to visit the districts which bore the brunt of cyclonic storm 'Thane'.

After chairing a meeting with senior department officials, Jayalalithaa said she had asked her cabinet colleagues B V Ramana, T K M Chinnaiah, K A Jeyapaul and M C Sampath to visit Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts, the worst hit by the storm which crossed the state coast this morning.

She said the sum of Rs 150 crore would be used for immediate relief measures and for restoring basic infrastructure facilities.

Besides, Jayalalithaa also directed the district collectors, deputy collectors and department secretaries to assess the extent of the damage caused by "Thane" and submit a report.

She said hundreds of trees had been uprooted, hampering the flow of traffic. Moreover, hundreds of electric posts have also fallen due to the cyclone, she said, directing officials to remove them by this evening.

She said as a precautionery measure, around 6,000 people living in low lying areas were moved to safer places and power supply had been suspended in Cuddalore, Villupuram and Nagapattinam districts since last night. Four teams from National Disaster Management were also sent to Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Chennai and Tiruvallur districts, she said in a statement here.