NEW DELHI: At least 13 people have lost their lives and over 81,000 others were affected after Cyclone Gaja hit TN coast early last week. Six Tamil Nadu districts and two in Puducherry were hit by the storm that brought along heavy rains in the southern state and union territory. The National Emergency Response Centre (NERC) released a statement saying a total of 81,948 people were affected by the cyclone. Home Minister Rajnath Singh called up Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and assured him of all assistance to deal with the situation arising out of the cyclonic storm.
He also directed Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to monitor the situation in Tamil Nadu and provide all help to the state administration. Singh tweeted, “Spoke to CM Shri K Palaniswami regarding the situation in the cyclone affected areas of Tamil Nadu. Assured all possible assistance from the Centre in mitigating the situation arising due to cyclone. Asked the HS to monitor the situation & provide all help to the state admin”.
Tamil Nadu state government released a statement saying it will send a “detailed report” to the Centre on the damage caused by the severe cyclonic storm. It said, “Chief Minister Palaniswami explained in detail the measures taken by the state government, the damage caused by 'Gaja', and the relief measures being taken up on a war-footing”. The NERC said 471 relief camps were set up in Tamil Nadu and 57 relief camps in Puducherry. A total of nine teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) consisting of 237 rescuers with 19 boats are deployed in Tamil Nadu and two NDRF teams comprising 50 rescuers with four boats are deployed in Puducherry for rescue and relief of affected people.
