Cyclone Thane

CUDDALORE (TAMIL NADU): Major roads blocked by uprooted trees and debris dumped by cyclone Thane in Cuddalore district and Puducherry were cleared for traffic today as relief operations intensified to restore power to the affected areas where the toll has gone up to 47. With reports of five more deaths coming from remote areas, the toll in Cuddalore has gone up to 31 including ten women and two children, District Collector V Amudhavalli said. The severe cyclonic storm has claimed 40 lives in Tamil Nadu. Besides Cuddalore, deaths have been reported from Villupuram, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chennai and Theni. Seven people died in Puducherry. The cyclone has resulted in extensive damage with the loss being estimated at over Rs 2,000 crore. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram who was slated to tour the cyclone-hit areas today cancelled his visit due to inclement weather and will now inspect the areas on Tuesday, Union Minister of State in the PMO V Narayanasamy said. It was a forgettable new year dawn for the people as more than 18,000 in Cuddalore district and scores in Puducherry continued to be sheltered in government buildings, including schools, and marriage halls where they were being provided food and other essential items. Officials said 90 per cent of affected roads in Cuddalore district had been cleared for traffic, adding 20,000 litres of petrol have been despatched from Nagapattinam. Supply of essential items such as milk and fuel, including kerosene, would normalised within two days while water and power would be restored within a week, they said. A report from Puducherry said the union territory was limping back to normalcy though drinking water and power supply was not fully restored in most places and the work on removing uprooted trees was underway. Availability of milk continued to be affected but petrol supply has become normal. An average 60,000 food packets prepared at central kitchens was being distributed daily to the people hit by the cyclone, officials said. Cyclone Thane killed at least 47 people when it struck Tamil Nadu on Friday, flattening houses and destroying crops, aid workers say. The storm brought wind speeds of up to 135 kmph (83 mph) and tidal surges reaching 1.5 metres (5 feet), forcing coastal fishing and farming communities into relief shelters set up in schools.

Although Thane killed far fewer people than the Indian Ocean tsunami which hit the same coastline, some aid agencies fear the damage to property and infrastructure could be worse as there was more destruction inland. However, they stressed they had not accessed all areas yet and did not have a full picture. "We've started assessing what the needs are in the aftermath of this severe cyclone," said Amar Jyoti Nayak, regional manager for ActionAid India in Tamil Nadu. "People need dry food rations, clothes, clean water as basic relief ... many also need support to rebuild their homes which have been completely destroyed by Thane," Nayak told AlertNet by phone from Chennai. Thane moved in from the Bay of Bengal making landfall around dawn on December 30, primarily lashing the coastal district of Cuddalore, and the former French colonial town of Pondicherry. Gale winds brought down telephone and power lines and uprooted trees and benches along Pondicherry's tree-lined boulevards and promenade, while tidal waves smashed into low-lying mud-and-thatch villages along the coast. Most deaths were caused by wall collapses, while others were due to drowning or electrocution, said government officials. WORSE THAN TSUNAMI? India's eastern coast is prone to natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis and cyclones. The Indian Ocean tsunami left almost 16,300 people dead or missing in India - most of them from Tamil Nadu. Aid workers said unlike the tsunami, Thane had struck interior areas as well as the coastline. "There is a definitely a lot of damage," said John Roche, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies IFRC.L in India. "It's still too early to say how bad it is, but definitely there will be an urgent need to help people who have lost homes and livelihoods recover." Many areas, particularly in Cuddalore, have not had any electricity for five days, schools and community centres have been battered and drinking water supplies disrupted. At least 200,000 thatched homes have been damaged by the high winds and 70 percent of trees have been uprooted, blocking roads and preventing authorities and aid workers from reaching some areas. In one village, almost 6 km (3.7 miles) from the coast, over 50 homes have been wiped out. Hundreds of fishing boats have also been washed away or battered by the storm.

A portion of the roof was blown out due to heavy wind and water entered the unit damaging corrugated boxes and major machines. I have only one day's inventory left. Without power, I cannot do anything, he said, adding that the loss for him could be around Rs 2 lakh. Cyclone Thane made landfall between Puducherry and Cuddalore last week. With winds of over 140 kmph, roofs of many units were blown away, many compound walls were damaged and huge fallen trees made it difficult for company officials to access their units. There are around 10,000 direct workers employed in the estate.
Power supply

Most of the industrial units are located away from the town and the Government may take 7 to 15 days to restore power supply to industries, he said. Mr V. E. Thirumal, Director, Borax India Ltd, a medium unit in the estate, is not sure when he will restart the unit. I only pray that we get the power quickly and start the machines. The Government is giving power in phases, and we are not sure when the estate will get power, he said. His company provides raw materials that are used in the manufacture of glasses. As secretary of the Mettupalayam Industrial Estate Units' Association, Mr Thirumal has a bigger responsibility to ensure that all the 220 units of which around 190 are smaller ones with investment of around Rs 2 crore in machinery start functioning at the earliest. The association spent Rs 3 lakh in clearing the huge trees that blocked access to the units that manufacture packaging material, chemicals and pharma products, he said. Mr Thirumal estimates that the daily production loss in the estate could be around Rs 5 crore, including damage to raw material. This is a huge number considering that most of the units are very small, he said. The State Government has announced a relief of Rs 2,000 to ration-card holders affected by Thane. Similarly, the Government should provide assistance of around Rs 50,000 each to the units, he said. Bad roads in the estate have been problem for nearly a decade. We have been fighting with the Government to have proper road. The Thane cyclone has aggravated the situation in the estate. We want only Rs 3 crore for the road improvement, he said. Every day, goods worth Rs 20 crore are shipped out of the estate, Mr Thirumal said. The losses for small and medium size units there are five major industrial estates could run into hundreds of crores, said Mr Devendu Bajpai, Chief Executive Officer of REiL Electrical India Ltd, and Convener, MSME Panel, CII Puducherry State Council.The cyclone had three-fold effect on industry and service sector loss of property, loss of production and loss of documents and data.

Almost all industries and service sector in and around Puducherry bore the brunt of the cyclone, Mr Bajpai said.