PUDUCHERRY: Very severe cyclonic storm Nivar, which made a landfall near Marakkanam in Tamil Nadu in the early hours of Thursday, battered several parts of Cuddalore, Villupuram and Kancheepuram districts and Puducherry. The cyclone left low-lying regions of Puducherry and northern districts of Tamil Nadu inundated with rainwater making life miserable for lakhs of people.
Several thatched houses in Cuddalore, Villupuram and Kancheepuram districts in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal district in Puducherry have been damaged. Power and communication poles were also damaged.
The storm destroyed standing crops and plantations in Cuddalore district, the fag end of Cauvery delta. Trees were uprooted in Cuddalore and Villupuram districts in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry district.
Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy, who visited the cyclone-affected areas on Thursday morning, said there was no fatality in Puducherry. He said the damage was drastically reduced as people remained indoors and the rain and gale wind speed during the cyclone were intermittent.
Puducherry received a record rainfall of more than 300mm from 8.30am on November 25 to 5.30am on November 26. The low-lying regions in the town limits were inundated. The stagnated stormwater had not drained into the sea as the sea level was high.
Narayanasamy said more than 2,000 people had been accommodated in relief camps. He said all the fishermen who ventured into sea for fishing from Karaikal had returned shore safely by Wednesday evening.