CHENNAI:The Roaring 40s are strong westerly winds that blow in the southern hemisphere, usually near Australia. When Chennai witnessed its own version, trees were strewn across roads, many completely uprooted, and some minus the branches. The city plunged into darkness when the transformers were either busted or were turned off for safety.
Lakshmi, a resident of Kilpauk, found it hard to go on with her daily chores in total darkness and no natural light. It was impossible to use her phone or laptop. “It was difficult to even see. Thank god, I had candles! But the real problem was lack of water in our hostel.” The roads were flooded, gates were broken and water was inside her hostel. When it calmed down a bit, she decided to go buy groceries and found that credit cards machines were not working.
Rani, a resident of Ambattur was scared out of her wits when she saw three trees fall in front of her house. She says, “There was no electricity since morning and then suddenly the trees started falling down, blocking our path. We were scared for our lives…we didn’t know what to do!”
Jeeva, a roadside shop owner from Ambattur, found her shop — a fancy store — stuck between three surrounding trees. “We had bought all these things — earrings, necklaces, and many stationery items recently. But now, everything is destroyed. We don’t know where to go for help,” she rues, wiping her tears. In North Madras, Mano saw trees falling and wrecking homes. She was scared for herself and her unborn baby. She says, “Seeing all those houses collapse was a bit scary, as there was a chance ours might fall as well.” Her street was lightly flooded for few hours before the water drained.
Amid of all this mayhem, she found, to her surpise, some buses on the road, though struggling to navigate, yet moving forward. “Seeing the moving bus calmed me a bit, as it showed that things were not as bad as yesterday,” she smiles, rubbing her pregnant belly. We couldn’t agree more!
As Vardah hit Chennai and northern coastal districts of TN, normal life was severely affectd for the most part of Monday. It is said to be the most intense cyclone to have hit the state in over 20 years. It uprooted over 3,000 trees in Chennai alone, claimed four lives, and left hundreds homeless.