Trichy: When Cyclone Gaja crossed Pudukkottai district on Friday, it left behind damages that the district had not witnessed in the last four decades. It was way back in 1977 that the district witnessed a cyclone of such intensity leading to substantial destruction.The entire district received just 43 mm rainfall, but it was the wind velocity that left the district shattered. The wind speed touched 130-140 kmph causing substantial damage by uprooting thousands of trees and over 10,000 electric poles across the district. By the time the wind slowed down in the evening and the cyclone moved towards the western part of the state, the entire district had been pushed to darkness after a power shutdown.Apart from the damage caused to men and material, the cyclone would be remembered for wiping out a substantial portion of the district’s green cover. Though the district administration did not quantify the trees brought down, several sources said that the number was huge. Most of the damage caused to electric posts was due to uprooting of trees in the high wind velocity that started from as early as 3 am on Friday. Apart from palm trees, thousands of jack fruit trees were uprooted in areas like Keeramangalam, Vadakadu, Kothamangalam and Manavayal which boast of a substantial number of plantations.“Casualties due to electrocution could be prevented in the district as power supply was stopped as wind started gaining pace in the early hours,” said collector S Ganesh. He said that about 500 workers would be reaching Pudukkottai by Saturday morning along with 33 special officers from various districts to work on restoring power supply at the earliest. As on Friday evening, a total of 649 tile-roofed houses were found fully damaged and about 100 partially damaged.3,350 TREES DOWN IN THANJAVUR: In Thanjavur district, while the city was relatively less affected, several regions closer to the coast – including Pattukottai and Peravurani – were severely affected. District collector A Annadurai said relief measures were being taken to restore normalcy. The collector said that around 3,350 trees were uprooted, 480 huts damaged and 55 cattle had died. Apart from these, power supply was also disrupted right from the early hours of Friday since as at least 5,000 poles and a 110kV substation at Pattukottai were totally damaged in the strong winds that lashed across the district.Heavy winds started to lash across the district right from the early hours with the wind speed going up to 111km per hour. Transport was affected at multiple places across the district due to this as several uprooted trees blocked the roads. Many buses were cancelled during the day and the Kumbakonam bus stand was closed.

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