Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu) [India], Nov 16 (ANI): Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district on Friday woke up to the sight of uprooted trees and damaged houses due to the overnight rainfall and strong winds caused due to cyclone Gaja.

The cyclonic storm crossed Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranniyam on Thursday evening and unleashed mayhem in Tiruvarur and Thanjavur districts as well.

In the wake of the situation, a red alert was issued for the administration in parts of Tamil Nadu to keep the government authorities ready to mobilise resources to meet any eventuality.

The government undertook several preventive measures, which included deploying National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force (TNDRF), evacuating around 20,000 people living along the coastal line and moving them to relief camps. The Indian Navy has also been put on alert for relief efforts.

Apart from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh was also impacted by the cyclonic storm which is likely to bring heavy downpour and strong winds to several parts of the region for the next couple of days. (ANI)

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