Cyclone Thane leaves 33 dead

Cyclone Thane hit the coast of Tamil Nadu on Friday, making landfall between Puducherry and Cuddalore that has resulted in the death of 33 people so far. While 19 people have been reported dead in Cuddalore, eight have died in Puducherry.

After the landfall, the cyclone moved further westward and weakened rapidly into a deep depression and lay centered at about 100 km west of Cuddalore, the regional weather office said.

The storm crossed the coast between Cuddalore and Puducherry bringing in its wake torrential rains accompanied by gale that uprooted hundreds of trees and knocked electric poles, snapping power supply in several areas.

Puduchery District Collector S B Deepak Kumar said that rescue operations were in full swing in the union territory. Uprooted trees were being removed from the roads.

Train services from southern Tamil Nadu were hit as many of them ran late or were stopped in the nearby station while flights to international destinations by private carriers including to Kuwait and Malaysia from Chennai were cancelled.

"We don't know what is happening in the outside world. All that we have been hearing since last night is the howling of the wind. Several trees have fallen down. Even mobile phone signals are not proper," S Ravikumar, a Puducherry resident, told IANS.

Eight disaster management teams have been sent to coastal areas. 49 cyclone shelters have been set up in Cudallore and Nagapattinam.

This is an aerial view of Marina Beach after Cyclone Thane in Chennai on Friday.

People at Marina Beach after Cyclone Thane in Chennai on Friday.

This image has been shared by our surfer Rahul from Puducherry.

This image has been shared by our surfer Rahul from Puducherry.

This image has been shared by our surfer Rahul from Puducherry.

Cyclone Thane, which has been brewing in the Bay of Bengal since Sunday, is expected to impact Puducherry and Tamil Nadu districts - Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur and Villupuram - Meteorological Department Director General Ajit Tyagi said on Thursday.

Under the influence of the cyclone, isolated rain is predicted over north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry till Saturday afternoon. Rain is also predicted over south coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema. Though Thane currently has an wind-speed of about 140 km per hour, it may weaken slightly and strike the coast with a speed of about 120 km per hour bringing widespread rains.

Eight teams of the National Disaster Management Force (NDRF) have been sent to the coastal areas. Two of these teams will be in Andhra Pradesh, rest six in Tamil Nadu in view of the cyclone warning. 15,000 NDRF perssonnel have been put on alert.

The weather officer has advised local administrations to evacuate people from low-lying areas as thatched roofs and huts are likely to be damaged extensively and escape routes are also likely to be flooded.

Over 70 fishermen went missing in the storm from different parts off the Andhra Pradesh coast on Wednesday and Thursday. National Disaster Management Force has recused all eight of them. Helicopters were at sea looking for the remaining fishermen, when the reports last came in.

A weather scientist said that Cyclone Thane would probably be half in intensity than that of the super-cyclone that struck Orissa in 1999 which packed wind speed of more than 220 km per hour.