The death toll due to cyclone Gaja has touched 45, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said on Sunday and appealed to leaders of all political parties to take part in the relief work.

He said the relief operations were going on a war footing in the districts affected by the storm and state ministers have been deployed in Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, and Pudukottai to monitor it. The state government is collecting details about areas, which have been badly affected by the cyclone, Palaniswami told the media.