Cyclone Vardah leaves trail of damage across Chennai

Chennai: Uprooted trees, their branches strewn across the roads, ripped off glass panels from high-rise buildings, fallen signboards and darkness all over — the devastation left by Cyclone Vardah was indescribable in words.  But the city showed its spirit once again this December.

Toll plazas, petrol pumps, signboards and hoardings were the worst hit as gusty winds pounded them without any mercy. More than 3,000 electric poles were either uprooted or affected due to the cyclone and the city was engulfed in complete darkness as power was cut off since morning to prevent any mishaps.
 While North Chennai, being close to the landfall area, was totally devastated, South Chennai was toppled, courtesy the non-preparedness of the local bodies. Being the lung spaces of the city, the Central City region, on the other hand, reported more number of trees falling.
 
Southern suburbs at a standstill
 Life came to a standstill in southern suburbs including Tambaram, Chrompet and Pammal due to power outage since Sunday night.

Water supply was affected. With shops being closed, people were forced to drink unhygienic water. Another major problem here was the non-completion of storm water drains that resulted in water stagnation.

“Power was shut down and shops were closed. We had to boil well water and drink,” C. Kishore from Tambaram said.

Lack of storm water drains caused flooding on GST Road, especially near Chrompet GH, Pallavaram Police station and at Medavakkam —Shollinganallur Road. The tiff between National Highways and the local body is the root cause of incomplete SWDs at Tambaram — Mudichur Road, resulting in stagnation.
 
Arterial roads blocked
Adyar and Teynampet, which have prominent green spaces, had to face the brunt, as trees were uprooted. Roads including Gandhi Mandapam Road, T T K Road, Cathedral Road, Cp Ramaswamy Road, 100 feet Road at Vadapalani and Konnur High Road were blocked on Monday.

The maximum damage for the city came in parts of North Chennai where trees and huts were uprooted by the squall. Areas like Pulianthope, Ayanavaram, Royapuram, Chintradipet and Choolai, which withstood the December 2015 deluge, suffered water logging, tree falls, and electricity leakages.

“Roads were not motorable as trees were uprooted. North Chennai was chaotic as cyclone's eye passed through here. Sign boards were uprooted and power cables were hanging, posing a threat," said A. Sukhoor, a resident.
 As petrol bunks were empty, people were seen pushing the drained vehicles back home. "I had to push my vehicle from LIC to Triplicane as the bunks had no fuel," said K. Suresh, a motorist.

Corporation pools in staff

As disruption was seen in all the 12 zones of Greater Chennai Corporation, the civic body had to take the aid of employees from police, fire, state disaster and revenue departments to restore normalcy.

In a heart-warming gesture, locals helped officials to clear the trees, lampposts and signboards that were pulled out. "Police staff and few youngsters were on the roads clearing the trees on Konnur High Road since Monday morning. It made me recall the spirits of people during last year's floods," said Dinesh Mohan, a resident of Ayanavaram.