In
Dec 2015, there were unprecedented rains in Chennai ~ water ran over Saidapet,
Adyar bridges, many houses were inundated – people suffered – the devastation
was captured and shown widespread in
every media; social media highlighted more and there were so many groups
including SYMA of Triplicane that were involved in relief work.
On Nov
5, 2018 - a low pressure system formed
over the Gulf of Thailand. The system crossed through Southern Thailand and the
Malay Peninsula on Nov 8. The next day, it crossed into the Andaman Sea and
lingered there, organizing further throughout the day and intensified into a
depression over the Bay of Bengal on November 10. The next day, the system was
designated by the IMD as BOB 09. Soon after, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center
(JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA). At 00:00 UTC on
November 11, the deep depression strengthened into a cyclonic storm, and was
named 'Gaja'. There was red-alert too .. .. it made a landfall later – there
were not even heavy rains in Chennai and social media made memes making fun
that ‘Gaja went jaga’ – it became a joke .. .. .. first regret for not realizing the devastation caused elsewhere
in our own state of Tamil Nadu .. ..
Gaja made landfall
along the coast of Tamil Nadu as a severe cyclonic storm between Vedaranyam and
Velankanni shortly after midnight on 15.11- it reportedly was more than 120
kmph at the eye of the storm. The Atmospheric
Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over
Tropical Cyclone Gaja on Nov. 15 at 3:29 p.m. EDT (around 2 am IST) and
analyzed the storm in infrared light. Infrared light provides temperature data
and that’s important when trying to understand how strong storms can be. The
higher the cloud tops, the colder and the stronger they are. When Aqua passed over the Indian Ocean,
Gaja’s center was making landfall along the coast of southeastern India. The
AIRS instrument found coldest cloud top temperatures in thunderstorms around
the center, where temperatures were as cold as minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit
(minus 53 degrees Celsius). Storms with cloud top temperatures that cold have
the capability to produce heavy rainfall.
It appears
that – we have not fully understood or realized the havoc caused by the cyclonic
storm 'Gaja', which crossed Tamil Nadu's coast early on Friday, claiming more
than 20 lives and thousands of cattle. The winds due to the cyclonic storm
resulted in hundreds of trees and electricity poles being uprooted in places of
: Nagapattinam, Vedaranyam, Pattukottai, Karaikal, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur,
Pudukottai, Cuddalore, Pudukottai to name a few.
Thanjavur is the
delta region, that produced quintals of paddy when Cauvery was in full
flow. Tanjore district encompasses the
entire cauvery delta. For administrative reasons the erstwhile Thanjavur
district was divided into three districts Viz. Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and
Nagapattinam districts. The sad news is - Cyclone Gaja has left coconut farmers
devastated, felling lakhs of trees in groves across the Cauvery delta and in
neighbouring Pudukottai district. “The impact created by cyclone Gaja
certainly is deeper than we could imagine. Livelihoods of thousands of
villagers have been destroyed.
The coconut growing
belt of Pattukottai and Peravurani in Thanjavur district have been the worst
affected, farmers say. The Agriculture Department has launched a survey to
enumerate the extent of damage and it is expected to be completed by November
25. Coconut is raised on about 40,000 hectares (ha), mostly in Pattukottai,
Peravaruni and Orathanadu areas in Thanjavur district, the department officials
said. According to initial estimates, over five lakh coconut trees in
Pudukottai district have been uprooted by the cyclone, leaving coconut growers
literally in tears. Authorities in Nagpattinam said that coconut trees on 3,000
hectares have been damaged. Farmers of Pattukottai and Peravurani areas said
for most them coconut groves were the only source of livelihood.
Nearly two lakh
farm labourers are also estimated to depend on the coconut farms for employment
in Thanjavur district. Peravurani is a panchayat town which is a leading
producer of coconut. The town lying in
new delta region is irrigated by Kallanai Kalvai and its
distributories. Peravurani means "big pond", deriving from the Tamil
words periya meaning big and oorani meaning a pond or a tank.
The villages in and
around Peravurani – some of which named as - Thirupooranikadu, kalagam, kondraikadu,
thenangudi, hiruchitrambalam
seruvaviduthi, uppuviduthi, Mudachikkadu, kalanikkottai, Kuruvikkrambai
karambakkadu , Nadiyam, Marungappallam, Nattanikottai, Kazhanivasal,
Rettavayal, Ottangadu, Sethubavachathiram – and more have been devastated by
the cyclone with coconut trees, plantain trees, maize and paddy have been badly
damaged. Electric poles have fallen –
there has been no electricity and many people are suffering without food and
basic amenities.
It is our duty to
ensure that we participate in some relief measures and help our brethren in
these areas – whatever listed out here is limited and practically, there could
be hundreds of villages badly affected and thousands waiting for some
assistance.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
19th Nov.
2018.
Pic
credit : IMD, NASA, FB page of Peravurani (just to highlight and make us
understand the impact of cyclone)
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