TIL Desk/National/Chennai/Amrawati/ Very severe cyclonic storm ‘Vardah’, the most intense to have hit the Tamil Nadu capital in two decades, claimed four lives, flattened homes, snapped power, communication lines and threw into disarry rail, road and air traffic as it crossed the coast here, pounding Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram with heavy rain and squall. Thousands of people were evacuated as roaring wind clocking speed of 100 km an hour uprooted trees, tore off hoardings and toppled cars.
Public transport came to a standstill in Chennai with buses and suburban trains suspended and airport shut. Rail, road and air traffic, official sources said, were likely to be restored by tomorrow.
Most commercial establishments downed shutters in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts.
“After 1994, this is the first very severe cyclonic storm to hit Chennai coast. The storm has completely crossed the coast as expected (this evening),” a senior Met Official here told. Civic workers used hand-held battery-operated wood cutters to remove hundreds of uprooted trees lying on the roads. Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF were deployed for rescue efforts as army was put on standby.
