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The toll of a cyclone that hit the east coast of India has reached 33 dead, said Sunday a disaster official, while authorities assessed the damage caused by the powerful storm.
Hurricane Gaja, which caused winds reaching 120 km / h, spread to the state of Tamil Nadu after hitting the coast on Friday.
Thousands of trees were blown down by the wind that destroyed houses and hundreds of thousands were forced to flee to shelters.
"Up to now, 20 men, 11 women and two children have died as a result of the cyclone," said an official of the state's disaster management authority, who asked not to not be named because he was not allowed to talk to the media.
"To date, 177,500 people are staying in more than 351 camps, thousands of trees have been uprooted and livestock have also been hit hard," he told AFP.
Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, who announced compensation of $ 14,000 each to the families of the victims, said most deaths were caused by floods, house collapses and electrocutions.
Hundreds of rescuers have been put in service to restore roads and electrical cables, while the disaster is gaining momentum.
A navy helicopter and two ships joined relief efforts in the state, the local government announced.
The Indian Meteorological Department said the cyclonic depression had shifted westward Saturday into the neighboring Kerala state before continuing into the Oman Sea.
Gaja is the second major storm to hit the east coast of India in recent weeks. Hurricane Titli hit the state of Odisha in October, killing at least two people.
Storms have regularly hit southern India between April and December. Last year, Cyclone Ockhi killed nearly 250 people in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Thousands of trees were cut down by winds that destroyed houses and hundreds of thousands of others were forced to flee to shelters in the south of the state of Tamil Nadu, in India after the passage of a cyclone in the region.
