Cyclone Vardah left Chennai under the torment of lashing rain, no electricity and at a complete standstill.
And the Times of India thought it was clever to go with a headline which read ‘Chennai awaits Cyclone Ashwin’, as England arrive in the city to play India in the last Test of their five-match series.
Vardah’s arrival meant more than 10,000 people had to be rescued from coastal Tamil Nadu. And another 9,000 were moved to safety in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh as well.
And the Times of India thought it was apt to go with a headline which said ‘Chennai awaits Cyclone Ashwin’.
According to latest reports, Vardah cost 18 people their lives. 15 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in both Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Two Indian Navy Ships also joined the relief effort, sailing from Vishakhapatnam on Monday for help.
Chennai has gone through worse natural calamities – like the tsunami in 2004 and the floods last year – and while adavnce warnings on Vardah made sure life and property damage wasn’t as bad, wind speeds still touched an insane 192kmph, heavy rainfall and no power supply in the city.
A case of going too far for a pun? It’s insensitive. It’s disrespectful and it’s terrible word-play. They should have known better.