Cyclone Fengal batters 14 TN districts; PM assures Stalin of support to deal with floods

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (December 3) called up Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and assured him of all possible support to the state in dealing with the massive flooding caused by Cyclone Fengal.

Modi’s call was in response to a letter from Stalin on Monday (December 2) urging the former to release ₹2,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for restoration and rehabilitation work. The fund would help the administration take up temporary restoration of damaged infrastructure and the livelihoods of people, he said.

Also Read: TN: Cyclone Fengal leaves trail of destruction; 19 dead, Villupuram hit by flood fury

Stalin in his letter said the cyclone has caused "unprecedented" devastation in the state. The chief minister also asked the union government to depute a central team to undertake a comprehensive assessment of damages.

14 districts affected, access to essentials hit

The cyclone and heavy rains which have left a trail of devastation in their wake, have caused severe flooding in several parts of the state, damaging roads, paralysing connectivity, and stopping residents’ access to essential commodities.

In certain areas like Arasur in Villupuram district, people confronted with depleted essential commodities, resorted to a sudden agitation demanding the essentials.

As per an estimate by the Tamil Nadu government, Cyclone Fengal caused unprecedented devastation in 14 districts, extensively damaging roads, electricity lines and caused heavy inundation. The sudden deluge not only inundated vast areas but also displaced the population and severely impacted the infrastructure.

The "catastrophic event" resulted in the loss of 12 human lives, 2,416 huts, 721 houses and 963 cattle. Widespread damage was also caused to agriculture and horticulture crop and irrigation systems, the state government said.

Also Read: Cyclone Fengal: 4 dead in Puducherry; CM to send report to Centre

Evacuation underway; bodies found during rescue

At Arasur, 18 people who took shelter in a temple that was damaged due to rain were rescued. The NDRF personnel successfully evacuated people and livestock marooned in a village in Cuddalore district.

In a tragic incident in Thiruvannamalai district, seven persons, including five children trapped in a house smashed by a boulder that fell on a residential house after rolling down from the top of Annamalaiyar Hill following a mud slip on December 1, were found dead during a rescue operation.

Their bodies were recovered on December 2 evening following a nearly 24 hour rescue operation, said police.

Expressing grief over the incident, Stalin announced Rs 5 lakh each for the kin of the deceased.

"I express my deepest condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families. I have also ordered to provide Rs five lakh each to the kin of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund," he said in a press release.

State Public Works and Highways Minister E V Velu, who inspected the rescue activity in VOC Nagar at the foothill in Thiruvannamalai district, said the area has never witnessed mud slips in the past.

Also Read: Cyclone Fengal spares Chennai, batters Puducherry and neighboring districts

CM asks officials to expedite relief, rehab ops

The Annamalaiyar Hill area has experienced a very heavy downpour since 1965, causing damage to crops, property and human lives, he said.

Meanwhile, educational institutions in Nilgiris, Ranipet, Salem and Thiruvannamalai districts remained closed today.

Chief Minister Stalin on Tuesday chaired a meeting with his cabinet colleagues and senior officials at the Secretariat and reviewed the damage due to the cyclone. He directed the officials to expedite the relief and rehabilitation activities

Stalin’s letter to Modi

In his letter to Modi, Stalin described in detail the devastation caused by the cyclone in 14 Tamil Nadu districts after it hit the coast on Friday.

Initially, it brought heavy rainfall to the districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Mayiladuthurai, Stalin said.

Subsequently, districts such as Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, and Villupuram experienced extremely heavy rainfall. Upon its landfall on December 1, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, and Tiruvannamalai, suffered extensive damage to roads and electricity lines as wind speeds touched a very high velocity of 90 km/h.

Also Read: TN | Another landslide hits Tiruvannamalai near spot where 7 of family trapped

It also caused heavy inundation and damages in the interior districts of Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Ranipet, Vellore and Tirupathur.

"The deluge has caused extensive disruptions, inundating vast areas, displacing population and severely impacting infrastructure and livelihood," Stalin said.

‘1.5 crore persons adversely affected’

Totally 69 lakh families and 1.5 crore individuals were adversely affected by this calamity. Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai, and Kallakurichi districts, in particular, received rainfall equivalent to an entire season’s average (more than 50 cm) on a single day, resulting in widespread flooding and severe damage to infrastructure and crops, he pointed out.

Responding to it, the state government mobilised all available resources to provide relief and rehabilitation to the affected population, the CM said.

Senior Ministers and officers have been deputed to oversee operations in the districts, while 9 teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 9 teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed.

Rescue and relief operations

A dedicated workforce comprising 38,000 government officials and 1,12,000 trained first responders were actively engaged in rescue and relief operations.

Relief shelters were established to accommodate displaced families, common kitchens have been made operational and food packets were distributed to those in need. Furthermore, 12,648 motor pumps have been deployed to drain water from inundated areas.

Also Read: Cyclone Fengal: Watch IndiGo plane’s harrowing landing bid in Chennai

"I have personally visited some of the most-affected districts today. The catastrophic event has resulted in a loss of 12 human lives, 2,416 huts, 721 houses, and 963 cattle, besides inundation of 2,11,139 hectares of agricultural and horticultural land," Stalin said.

Extensive damage

In addition, damage was caused to 9,576 km of roads, 1,847 culverts and 417 tanks, 1,649 km of electric conductors, 23,664 electric poles and 997 transformers, severe impairment of 1,650 Panchayat buildings, 4,269 Anganwadi Centers, 205 Primary Health Centers, 5,936 school buildings, 381 community halls, and 623 water supply schemes.

An initial assessment of these damages by the state government revealed that an estimated ₹2,475 crore was required for temporary restoration efforts.

"Despite our best efforts, the scale of this disaster has overwhelmed the state’s resources and the state needs urgent financial assistance to manage the fallout of this natural disaster," he said in the letter.

Also Read: TN: Landslide in Tiruvannamalai leaves 7 trapped; six bodies retrieved

Call for central team visit

He further said, "Given the magnitude of destruction and the urgent need for restoration, I humbly request immediate release of an interim relief amounting to ₹2,000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF)."

Additionally, a central team could be deputed to make a comprehensive assessment of the damages, so as to enable the state government to seek further financial assistance to address the unprecedented adverse impact on infrastructure, agriculture, and livelihoods in the affected districts, he said.

Schools, colleges remain closed in 4 districts

The government said all schools and colleges would remain closed on Tuesday (December 3) in four districts of Tamil Nadu due to heavy rainfall.

“All schools in the Nilgiris district will be closed on December 3, 2024, in view of heavy rainfall,” announced District Magistrate Lakshmi Bhavya.

As the IMD predicted more rains due to the cyclonic storm, schools and colleges in Villupuram, Cuddalore, and Puducherry will also remain closed on Tuesday.

In other districts like Ranipet, Salem, and Thiruvannamalai, only schools will remain shut.

(With agency inputs)