Overall Red alert Tropical Cyclone for GAJA-18
in India

Event summary

Tropical Cyclone GAJA-18 can have a high humanitarian impact based on the maximum sustained wind speed, exposed population and vulnerability.

GDACS ID TC 1000529
Name GAJA-18
Glide number: TC-2018-000413-IND
From - To 10 Nov - 18 Nov
Exposed countries India
Exposed population 8.4 million in Category 1 or higher
Maximum wind speed 139 km/h Category 1
Maximum storm surge 0.8 m (15 Nov 21:00 UTC)
Vulnerability High (India)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
Wind Storm surge Rainfall GDACS score
GDACS JTWC 46 km/h 0.8 m n.a. 0.5
Single TC: maximum expected impact (wind, storm surge, rainfall)
HWRF n.a n.a. n.a. n.a.
GFS n.a n.a. n.a. n.a.
ECMWF n.a n.a. n.a. n.a.
Maximum expected impact (wind, storm surge and rainfall) using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
India - Tropical Cyclone GAJA update (ECHO 19 Nov 2018)Mon, 19 Nov 2018 11:01

  • At least 45 people are dead after tropical cyclone GAJA made landfall over central-southern Tamil Nadu (southeastern India). 177 500 people are displaced in 351 camps across nine affected districts: Chennai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Sivaganga, Dindigul, Theni and Madurai.
  • Over the next 24 hours, heavy rainfall and strong winds could impact Tamil Nadu, including the already affected districts.
Cyclone Gaja – India (ECHO 16 Nov 2018)Fri, 16 Nov 2018 13:00

  • Tropical cyclone GAJA made landfall between Nagapattinam and Vedaranniyam towns (Tamil Nadu State, India) on 15 November, with maximum sustained winds up to 139 km/h. Heavy rain and strong winds are affecting Tamil Nadu and Kerala States. On 16 November at 0:00 UTC, its centre was approx. 40 km south of Thanjavur Town and 320 km east-north-east of Kochi City, with maximum sustained winds of 139 km/h (Category 1 tropical cyclone).
  • It is forecast to continue west before moving on to the Arabian Sea, eventually weakening to a tropical storm.
  • Heavy rainfall and strong winds could affect Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, areas of South Interior Karnataka and Kerala (which saw 504 fatalities following intense flooding in May-October 2018) from 16-17 November. 
  • 11 people are dead and more than 81,948 have reportedly been evacuated from low-lying areas. They are housed in 471 relief centres in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur and Thiruvarur districts.     
India, Sri Lanka - Tropical Cyclone GAJA update (ECHO 15 Nov 2018)Thu, 15 Nov 2018 11:01

  • Tropical cyclone GAJA continued south-west over the Bay of Bengal, slightly strengthening. On 15 November at 0:00 UTC, its centre was located approx. 370 km east-north-east of Nagapattinam town (Tamil Nadu State, south-east India) and 375 km north-east of Point Pedro town (northeastern Sri Lanka) with maximum sustained winds of 83 km/h.
  • GAJA could make landfall close to Nagapattinam town on 15 November late in the afternoon, as a tropical storm, with maximum sustained winds up to 95-100 km/h.
  • Heavy rainfall and strong winds  and storm surge could affect Tamil Nadu and Kerala, southern Andhra Pradesh over 15-16 November. A Red Warning for heavy rainfall remains in effect for Tamil Nadu and an Orange Warning for Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
  • Major damage is expected to thatched huts/houses and lesser damage to power and communication systems. Schools and colleges in Tamil Nadu have been closed as a precautionary measure.
  • 30,000 rescue personnel and 11 companies of NDRF teams have been placed on standby in India. However, the system is not expected to result in significant humanitarian needs at this stage.
India, Sri Lanka - Tropical Cyclone GAJA update (ECHO 14 Nov 2018)Wed, 14 Nov 2018 10:44

  • Tropical cyclone GAJA continued south-west over the Bay of Bengal, as a tropical storm. On 14 November at 0:00 UTC, its centre was approx. 630 km east-north-east of Chidambaram town (Tamil Nadu State) and 655 km north-east of Point Pedro town (north-east Sri Lanka) with maximum sustained winds of 74 km/h.
  • It is forecast to continue west-south-west, slightly strengthening, with maximum sustained winds up to 83 km/h. GAJA could make landfall close to Chidambaram town on 15 November late in the afternoon, as a tropical storm.
  • Heavy rainfall and strong winds could affect Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and central-northern Sri Lanka over 14-16 November.
  • A Red Warning for heavy rainfall has been issued for Tamil Nadu for 15 November and an Orange Warning for Tamil Nadu and Kerala for 16 November.
India, Sri Lanka - Tropical cyclone GAJA update (ECHO 13 Nov 2018)Tue, 13 Nov 2018 11:02

  • Cyclonic storm Gaja was located approx.750 kmeastof Chennai (Tamilnadu), 840 kmeast-north-eastof Nagappattinam (Tamilnadu) and 850 km north-east of Kanakasanthurai (Sri Lanka) as of 5:30 hrs on 13 November.
  • Though, it is very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the next 24 hours, it is set to weaken gradually, as it crosses the Tamil Nadu coast between Cuddalore district and Pamban in Ramanathapuram district on 15 November.  
  • Heavy rainfall and strong winds could affect Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and northern Sri Lanka between 14-16 November.
  • In Sri Lanka, wind speed will be 50-60 km/h off the coast extending from Potuvil to Mannar via Trincomalee and Kankasanturai from morning of 13 November. The Sri Lankan Department of Meteorology has issued an advisory for its navy and fishing communities.
India, Sri Lanka - Tropical Cyclone GAJA (ECHO 12 Nov 2018)Mon, 12 Nov 2018 11:03

  • A new tropical cyclone GAJA formed over the Bay of Bengal on 10 November moving west-south-west offshore towards southern India and northern Sri Lanka. On 12 November at 0:00 UTC, its centre was located approx. 800 km east-north-east of Nagapattinam City (Tamil Nadu State, south-eastern India) and approx. 760 km north-east of Trincomalee City (north-eastern Sri Lanka) with maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h (tropical storm).
  • Over the next 24 hours, it is forecast to continue strengthening but remaining a tropical storm. GAJA could reach coastal areas of eastern Tamil Nadu (India) on 15 November very early in the morning (UTC) with maximum sustained winds of 111 km/h (tropical storm).
  • Heavy rainfall and strong winds could affect Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh States as well as northern Sri Lanka over 14-15 November.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2024. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Latest media headlines

Articles: 251 | About casualties: 39 | Last hour: 0

Feed aggregatorThu, 22 Nov 2018 04:07:00 +0100.

Tropical cyclone THIRTYTHREE (SAMUEL in the Philippines) made landfall as a tropical depression close to Hernani town (Eastern Samar Province, Eastern Visayas Region) on 20 November. SAMUEL continued west over central-eastern Visayas Island
...(more)
Over one lakh tonnes of salt washed away in VedaranyamWed, 21 Nov 2018 15:33:00 +0100.

Over one lakh tonnes of salt kept in the open by 700 small-scale manufacturers in Vedaranyam has been washed away by Gaja cyclone. The average value of salt is around ₹ 1,000 a tonne. Apart from loss of stocks, the manufacturers stare at mo
...(more)
Unpredictable weather fallout of climate change: scientistTue, 20 Nov 2018 21:20:00 +0100.

After the 2004 tsunami, many scientists believed that the possibility of a tidal wave could be predicted with the help of technology in the future. But, nobody could predict the recent tsunami in Indonesia. Citing this as an example of the
...(more)
Inde: le cyclone Gaja fait au moins 33 mortsMon, 19 Nov 2018 17:18:00 +0100.

Le cyclone a traversé les côtes du Tamil Nadu vendredi 16 novembre entre 12h30 et 02h30, a déclaré à la presse le ministre en chef de l'État du Tamil Nadu, K. Palaniswami. Environ 177.500 personnes vivant dans des zones basses de la région
...(more)

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Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EC-JRC (38), (2), DesInventar (4), WMO (1), INFORM (2),