Cyclone Nisha claims 180 lives, another one brewing

Nisha, a tropical cyclone formed off the coast of Tamil Nadu, was the first cyclone since 1971 to batter the state. This delay, however, was over-compensated since its landfall on November 27 left at least 180 dead till Thursday. The cyclone has displaced over 20 lakh people and affected nearly 40 lakh while damaging lakhs of hectares of crops and wrecking public infrastructure worth several hundred crores.

Now, another low pressure area has been reported off the coast, which, if strengthened, is expected to bring more rain and burden the already-stretched Government machinery that is yet to complete the rehabilitation work in the areas affected by Nisha.

The Cauvery delta and the coastal districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore were the worst-hit. Incidentally, these districts had recorded less-than-normal rainfall in the last North East Monsoon.

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