Tamil Nadu’s Chennai received very heavy rains on Wednesday morning, even as powerful Cyclone Nivar moved towards the southeast coast, prompting authorities to declare a holiday, ban public gatherings, close shops and mobilize thousands of rescue personnel. . The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that Cyclone Nivar will cross the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry as a “very severe cyclonic storm” late on Wednesday. Parts of Andhra Pradesh are also forecast to be hit by the cyclone.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall between Mamallapuram and Karaikal late Wednesday with wind speeds of up to 145 km / h, according to IMD. IMD said, in a series of tweets on Wednesday morning, that “very heavy rainfall – 120mm – recorded in Chennai / Minabakkam” from 8:30 am on Tuesday to 5:30 am on Wednesday. “It is very likely that it will move towards the west-northwest during the next 06 hours and towards the northwest thereafter; It crossed the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry between Karaikal and Mamallapuram during the night of November 25 as a very severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 120-130 km / h with gusts of 145 km / h, “he said.
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“Near latitude 10.2 ° N and longitude 82.0 ° E, about 300 km east-southeast of Cuddalore, about 310 km east-southeast of Puducherry and 370 km south-southeast of Chennai. It is very likely to intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm over the next 12 hours, ”the meteorological office said in another tweet. “The Severe Cyclonic Storm NIVAR over the southwest of the Bay of Bengal moved west-northwest with a speed of 06 kmph during the last six hours and centered at 0230 IST on November 25, 2020 over the southwest of the Bay of Bengal, “he added.
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Tamil Nadu Prime Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami declared Wednesday a public holiday and said it could be extended. In Puducherry, public gatherings were banned from Tuesday until early Thursday. Stores in the Union territory, except those for essential services such as pharmacies and gas stations, must be closed until the cyclone passes.
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The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed up to 30 teams to Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh and an additional 20 teams have been kept on standby to assist local authorities in possible evacuations of residents of vulnerable coastal areas, the Center ha said. Fishermen have been warned not to go out to sea, while people from coastal areas are also evacuated to shelters.
IndiGo flights to or from the southern region, mainly Chennai, have been disrupted. “A total of 49 flights that were scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) were canceled. We will monitor the situation and decide the further course of action by November 26. We are accommodating passengers on the next available flights without additional charges, waiving the cancellation fee and refunding the full amount of the ticket, “IndiGo said in a statement Tuesday.
Southern Railway has canceled some train services and inter and internal bus services, including private buses, have been suspended in seven districts of Tamil Nadu. Medical advice for undergraduate courses scheduled for Tuesday in Chennai has been postponed until November 30.
Prior to this, Gaja, which was classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, made landfall in Tamil Nadu during the northeast monsoon in mid-November 2018, claiming 46 lives and leaving a trail of destruction in the southern state.
The center of Cyclone Nivar is expected to pass about 175 kilometers northeast of the coastal city of Kankesanthurai, further north in Sri Lanka, early Wednesday morning.
(With contributions from the agency)
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