NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held a high level meeting here to take stock of the situation of the relief operations following the landfall of cyclone Vardah in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
After the review meeting, Singh expressed satisfaction on the preparedness of the Central and State agencies in handling the devastating cyclone. The combined efforts by both the Centre and the States have resulted in minimising the casualties, the ministry said.
Singh also issued a directive to keep the Inter-Ministerial Central team ready to be sent to Tamil Nadu immediately on receipt of the Memorandum from the State Government, the Union Home Ministry said in a statement.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed as many as 19 flood and rescue teams in various parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry affected by the cyclone.
In Tamil Nadu, 10 flood rescue teams of NDRF have been deployed in various low lying areas. Two teams are deployed at Kanchipuram, three teams at Tiruvallur and five teams are in action at Chennai.
In Andhra Pradesh, eight flood rescue teams of NDRF have been positioned in coastal areas including one each at Prakasam and Vishakhapatnam, two at Chittoor) and four at Nellore. One team is also placed at Puducherry.
Immediately after the landfall, NDRF teams started clearing the road by removing uprooted and fallen trees to establish normalcy in the affected areas. The teams in these areas have cleared all the major roads, the ministry said.
“The moment landfall took place, the teams began tree clearing operation as several trees had fallen due to the severe wind of high speed of 110-120 KMPH. The NDRF teams carried out the operation throughout night and have cleared the main roads of all the major places in Chennai,” the statement further said.
The Director General of NDRF is closely monitoring the situation round the clock. NDRF Control Room in Delhi is in touch with IMD and local State administration.
The DG NRDF informed that eight teams of NDRF consisting of 268 rescuers along with 29 boats have been deployed in Tamil Nadu. Three more teams of NDRF consisting of 108 rescuers along with 15 boats have also been sent to Chennai.
Six teams of NDRF consisting of 205 rescuers along with 20 boats have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh.