Five die, hundreds of trees uprooted in Tamil Nadu as cyclone Mandous makes landfall

Chief Minister M K Stalin visited some of the worst-affected areas and reviewed the relief operations

At least five persons were killed in Tamil Nadu and hundreds of trees were uprooted in Chennai as Cyclone Mandous, packing wind speeds of 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph, made landfall near the coastal town of Mamallapuram in the early hours of Saturday.

The weather system took nearly five hours – from 10 pm on Friday to 3 am on Saturday – to complete the landfall before weakening into a deep depression and later a depression, leaving a trail of destruction along the scenic East Coast Road and in some interior parts of Chennai.

Nearly 400 trees, some of them hundred years old, were uprooted in Chennai, prompting the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to launch a massive operation to clear the debris and restore normalcy in the city. Chennai Metro Rail Corporation (CMRL) said the platform roof in four metro stations suffered damages worth Rs 3.5 crore due to the cyclone.

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Revenue Minister K K S S R Ramachandran said at least five people lost their lives due to Cyclone-related incidents. In Chennai, two people died of electrocution when a live wire fell on them, while a couple of wall collapse incidents were reported.

Chief Minister M K Stalin, who visited the affected areas in Chennai, said, “By taking measures and minimizing the damages, this government has demonstrated that it has the capacity to handle any natural disaster. I thank all government staff, especially the conservancy workers, for their role in restoring the city to normalcy within hours of the landfall.”

Despite heavy rains, traffic on arterial and main roads in Chennai were not affected on Saturday as the GCC mounted massive restoration and relief efforts by involving 25,000 people in the work. Debris of over 100 trees were removed from several areas by Saturday afternoon, and all 22 subways in the city remained open for traffic, even as the GCC came in praise from citizens for restoring the city to normalcy at “jet speed.”

Several parts of the city were pounded by heavy rains for the whole of Friday even as the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) suspended power supply in many areas in Chennai and elsewhere in the state as a precautionary measure. While power supply was restored to majority areas by Saturday evening, it may take a few more hours in localities where electric poles were damaged due to heavy winds.

The weather observatories in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam in Chennai recorded over 10 cm of rainfall each in the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Saturday. While 19 cm of rainfall was recorded in Kanchipuram, Cheyyar (18 cm), Avadi (17 cm), Tiruttani (10 cm), Sholinganallur (7.2 cm), Padur (10.8 cm), and Poonamallee (9.9 cm).

While 187 houses and huts were damaged, Stalin said, as many as 9,130 persons from 3,163 families have been lodged at 210 relief centres in the state. He said nearly 400 trees were uprooted in Chennai of which 150 fell on electric polls and added that 300 pumps are being used to pump out water from low-lying areas of the city.

“Electricity was suspended in 600 places as a precautionary measure. While 300 places have got power supply, the remaining will get by Saturday evening,” Stalin added.

The Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur and the Children’s Park in Guindy were closed on Saturday due to the impact of Cyclone Mandous. However, authorities said all animals in both the parks were safe.

“Several trees have fallen in the Arignar Anna Zoo at Vandalur and in Guindy children's Park in the aftermath of Mandous. All animals are however safe and there is no damage to enclosures. The Vandalur Zoo & the Guindy park are closed today to undertake maintenance work,” Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests), said.