
As it happened | Day after Cyclone Vardah, TN and Andhra limp back to normalcy
A day after Cyclone ‘Vardah’ barrelled through parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the coastal towns of the states are limping back to normalcy with officials monitoring the rescue and rehabilitation operations closely.
Chennai, the worst-hit city, presented a scene of devastation with thousands of uprooted trees, broken billboards and snapped telephone and power cables besides low-lying areas reporting waterlogging.
At least 20 people were killed in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as the ‘very severe’ cyclone ripped through India’s southeast coast.
The cyclonic storm is likely to weaken into a depression in the coming hours but wind speed may hover around the 70 km/hour mark, the director of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai S Stella told IANS.
Read | Day after Cyclone Vardah: Chennai residents say ‘December curse’ has struck again
Officials said the Cyclone Vardah – meaning red rose – was the most intense storm to have hit Chennai in two decades and packed windspeed of upto 140 kmph at its peak.
Though the Chennai airport was re-opened for traffic on Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu government ordered all educational institutions be kept shut for the second day in Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts.
Take a look at how the day after landfall panned out
5:35 pm: Death toll rises to 20.
3:00 pm: Home minister Rajnath Singh holds meeting to take stock of relief operations
2.45 pm: The fifth and final test match between India and England will start as per schedule on December 16 at Chepauk stadium in Chennai.
Tamil Nadu Cricket Association secretary Kashi Viswanathan said that although centre strip and the outfield have not been affected by the cyclone, the sight screen has been badly damaged, the bulbs of the floodlights blown off, a number of air-conditioners also got damaged and those need to be set in order in the next two days.
“The assuring part is that the pitch and the outfield has not been affected by the cyclone. Our challenge is to set everything in order in the next two days. I am confident we will be able to set everything right,” Viswanthan told PTI on Tuesday.
2.10 pm: INS Shivalik and INS Kadmatt entered Chennai harbour this morning and are offloading relief material.

2.00 pm: Flight services at Chennai airport have resumed as cyclone-hit Chennai limps back to normal. Tamil Nadu’s state disaster management cell reports that Anna Salai, Kamarajar Salai, Poonamallee High road, Rajaji Salai, RK Salai, Sardar Patel Road and Lalbahadur Sastri Road have been cleared of fallen trees.
“Trees have fallen in many places of Cyclone Vardah-affected districts. We are working continuously to clear,” they say.
12.30 pm: Expect heavy rains in north Tamil Nadu, neighbouring districts in Karnataka and north Kerala over the next 12 hours, says NDMA. They have classified the storm as a “well-marked low pressure area” over Tamil Nadu.
12.00 pm: NDMA issues a list of dos and don’ts in the wake of the storm.
11:20 am: Southern Railway said skeletal services resumed in the MMC, Sulurpettah/Arakkonam section while those on the busy Tambaram-Chengalpattu route were yet to begin operations, PTI reports.
10.40 am: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has instructed the revenue, police, State Disaster Response Force and other departments not to lower their guard against the cyclone, a statement said.
“Steps should be taken to prevent breaches to tanks and help in effectively dealing with the situation arising from floods, if any. All the necessary relief and rehabilitation measures in Chittoor and Nellore districts are underway,” the chief minister’s office tweeted.
10.00 am: Flight operations resume at Tirupati Airport after it was temporarily suspended on Monday.
9.00 am: Cyclone Vardah forms a deep depression over the interior regions of north Tamil Nadu and it will weaken in the next six hours, says NDMA. Rainfall is expected in south Karnataka over the next 12 hours.
8.50 am: At least two persons were killed in Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, which received heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours. As the eye of the storm crossed the coast late on Monday, Nellore, Chittoor and Kadapa districts received heavy rainfall along with gale winds with a speed of 60-80 km/hour, uprooting trees and electric poles.
Two deaths were reported in Chittoor town as they came in touch with live wires of electric poles which got uprooted due to heavy winds.
8.40 am: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are conducting relief and rescue operations in storm-hit areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra. DG NDRF RK Pachnanda says that the situation is being closely monitored and that teams are working as quickly as possible to restore normalcy.
Read | NDRF teams were ready for Vardah impact; fallen trees, poles being cleared: DG
8.20 am: First signs of the storm in Bengaluru as the city witnesses light showers.
7.15 am: The National Disaster Management Authority reports that ten people have been killed in Tamil Nadu: four in Chennai, two in Kanchipuram, one in Villupuram and one in Nagapattinam.
7.10 am: Chennai airport is operational again after services were temporarily suspended on Monday morning as Cyclone Vardah made landfall.
Government and private schools,colleges and other educational institutions in Chennai,Kanchipuram & Tiruvallur to remain closed today, reports ANI.
Read | Cyclone Vardah makes landfall: Four killed in Tamil Nadu, life thrown off gear

SC rejects Andhra govt plea to defer local polls
- On January 8, state election commissioner N Ramesh Kumar released the schedule for elections to be held in four phases

Stage set for mega tractor rally; Parliament march on Feb 1
- The police say about 30,000 tractors are likely to participate in the rally, but farm leaders said the number of vehicles will be closer to 200,000.

Republic Day 2021: List of police personnel who received gallantry medals
- The break-up of 946 police personnel who have been awarded medals on the occasion of the Republic Day, 2021.

'Change lifestyle to adapt to climate change': PM Modi
- "We have promised ourselves that we will not just meet our Paris Agreement targets but exceed them...” PM Modi said.

Willing to resign, Nagaland Lokayukta tells SC, seeks protection from state
- The Nagaland government had come to the Supreme Court in exceptional circumstances for orders to restrain the sitting Lokayukta from hearing any case or exercising his powers or functions under the Nagaland Lokayukta Act, 2017.

He deserved top medal: Col Santosh Babu's kin disappointed with Maha Vir Chakra
- His mother said she was not at all happy to receive the news that her son was conferred Maha Vir Chakra. “I expected the top medal, not this,” she said.

Republic Day 2021: Govt announces gallantry award winners. Full list here

'India foiled expansionist move in Ladakh': President's veiled dig at China

President Kovind says Indian armed forces 'adequately mobilised'

Attending Republic Day ceremony in Delhi compulsory, Govt tells officers
- In a letter sent to all government ministries and departments Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba warned "that serious view would be taken" against those who fail to attend the ceremony despite invitations

Odisha meets over 92% of Covid-19 vaccination target, leads among all states
- Of the 1.92 lakh beneficiaries that were to be vaccinated till January 25, the state has covered 1.77 lakh.

Republic Day 2021: Tarun Gogoi, Ram Vilas Paswan among 10 Padma Bhushan awardees

Senior officers must attend R-Day event at Rajpath or face action: Govt

Full text: President Ram Nath Kovind’s speech on eve of 72nd Republic Day

Rahul Gandhi wraps up Tamil Nadu campaign; attacks AIADMK, BJP
- “The chief minister is corrupt so he’s being controlled by the prime minister,” said Gandhi during his roadshow in Karur district.