Tamil Nadu is no stranger to disasters. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which devastated the state was a huge lesson to the administration. Several high-level officials in the state bureaucracy today proved their mettle as district collectors in the worst-ravaged districts of Tamil Nadu at the time.
Since then, TN has faced Cyclone Thane, Cyclone Vardah, Cyclone Ockhi and the 2015 Chennai floods. The weight of these experiences was seen in the swift mobilisation of machinery ahead of Severe Cyclonic Storm Gaja hitting the coast in the early hours of Friday. A staggering 82,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm in the nick of time.
This despite Gaja originally being predicted to make landfall as just a Cyclonic Storm. While 45 people were killed in the storm, it has been widely accepted that the toll would have been much higher if the government had not acted in such a timely manner.
The prevention and rescue stages of disaster management were well handled by the state—even opposition leaders were unequivocal in their praise—but the handling of relief has been cause for some tension. Relief efforts appear to have been slow to take off in the immediate aftermath of the storm. In some part this has been because of the vast devastation wrought by Gaja—lakhs of trees have been felled by the storm and the power infrastructure in the delta region has to be virtually rebuilt now.
Left in the dark, without food or water, homes or boats, villagers in some parts had taken to the streets in frustration. The government has been responsive, and for now it appears the basics have been covered. There is still some concern regarding underreporting of level of devastation and amount of compensation for crop loss.
The government has assured that assessment is still ongoing and these concerns are expected to be addressed soon. However, the road to normalcy will be slow as the machinery works around the clock and battles elements to restore connectivity and rebuild the power infrastructure.