Cyclone Gaja: Indian Navy joins rescue work; chopper, 2 ships reach affected areas

Chennai: As Tamil Nadu reels under severe cyclonic storm 'Gaja', the Indian Navy personnel on Saturday joined the state authorities, NDRF and civil populace to clear public buildings and roads in Nagapattinam. Two naval ships - Chetlat and Cheriyam - arrived at Karaikal earlier in the day carrying relief food material.

One helicopter sortie was flown from INS Parundu to assess the effect of Cyclone Gaja damages in and around Ramanathapuram. The Indian Navy has also positioned a Dornier Detachment at Arrakkonam to facilitate damage assessment and any other assistance that may be needed.

#CycloneGaja Two #IndianNavy ships Chetlat & Cheriam diverted to Karaikal to render assistance to state authorities as reqd. for disaster relief operations. 03 ships standing-by at Chennai & 02 ships at Vizag to augment HADR efforts @SpokespersonMoD @nsitharaman @DefenceMinIndia — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) November 16, 2018

Tamil Nadu: Indian Navy personnel joined the State Authorities, NDRF and civil populace to clear public buildings and roads in Nagapattinam.
Two naval ships Chetlat and Cheriyam arrived at Karaikal this morning carrying relief food material. #GajaCyclone pic.twitter.com/HK1KqLOTUT — ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2018

Cyclone Gaja crossed the Tamil Nadu coast early on Friday between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam, leaving behind a trail of destruction besides claiming 13 lives. Other districts like Pudukottai, Thanjavur and Cuddalore also bore the brunt of the cyclone.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each from the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund (CMPRF) for the families of the victims. Those with severe injuries will be provided with Rs one lakh each while people who had sustained simple injuries will get Rs 25,000 as a relief, he added.

More than 80,000 people were also evacuated from low-lying on Friday. Gusty winds due to the cyclonic storm resulted in hundreds of trees and electricity poles being uprooted in Nagapattinam and Karaikal districts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister K Palaniswami and learnt about various matters relating to the cyclone, including the damage caused by it and the post-cyclone measures that are to be taken, an official release said.

The prime minister also "assured (Palaniswami) that the Central government is ready to extend all assistance to people affected by the cyclone," it said.