18 people killed as Cyclone Vardah leaves debris, damage in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu CM O Panneerselvam wrote to PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday, seeking immediate release of Rs 1,000 crore from National Disaster Response Fund as cyclone relief.

Chennai: Eighteen people were killed in six districts of Tamil Nadu in rain-related incidents linked to Cyclone Vardah that crossed the coast, even as Chennai residents woke up on Tuesday to uprooted trees/big branches blocking the roads, fallen name boards and hoardings, power cuts and lack of milk supplies.

"A total of 18 persons were killed in rain-related incidents linked to Cyclone Vardah," a top Tamil Nadu government official monitoring the situation told PTI.

He said five each were killed in Chennai and Tiruvallur districts. Four persons died in Kancheepuram district, one each in Villupuram and Nagapattinam districts and two in Tiruvannamali district, the officials added.

All these deaths were in the revenue districts.

He said as expected districts like Tiruvannamalai, Vellore and the Western belt of Dharmapuri too witnessed heavy rains that began with the commencement of the cyclone Vardah's landfall.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu CM O Panneerselvam wrote to PM Narendra Modi today seeking immediate release of Rs 1,000 crore from National Disaster Response Fund as cyclone relief.

On the other hand, Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Agency (SDMA) said power supply was being restored based on transmission and distribution network clearance in the affected districts of Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallore.

The cyclone has affected power generation at North Chennai Thermal Power Station's (NCTPS) 600 MW Unit 1, the Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO) said.

According to POSOCO, two other units of NCTPS (one 600 MW and another 210 MW) went out of operation on Monday, and it is not known when they will resume generation.

The NCTPS Unit 1 was hand tripped due to heavy winds on Monday morning while the second 600 MW unit stopped due to electrical problem.

The reason for stoppage of 210 MW unit at NCTPS is awaited, said POSOCO, as per IANS.

Similarly, the two 220 MW units at Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), too, stopped operating on Monday evening due to tripping of power evacuation lines, POSOCO said.

In a statement, MAPS Station Director R.Satyanarayana said that due to high speed cyclonic wind, the 230 KV power lines tripped one after another.

(With Agency inputs)