Cyclone Nivar is forecast to move northward and further weaken in the coming hours
New Delhi:
Cyclone Nivar rushed towards the Puducherry coast late Wednesday night, uprooting trees and causing strong winds and rain as tens of thousands of people took refuge in shelters.
Cyclone Nivar made landfall around 2.30 am with winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour.
Thousands of state and national emergency personnel were deployed to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry when authorities cut off power supplies in several cities to prevent damage to the power grid.
Initially classified as a “very severe cyclonic storm” as it swirled in the Bay of Bengal, Nivar weakened after making landfall in a “severe cyclonic storm”, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
It is forecast to move northward and further weaken in the coming hours, the meteorological bureau added.
The danger “is not over yet because part of the cyclone is still over the sea, although the center is over the land,” IMD tweeted.
Fierce winds uprooted trees and toppled power towers, while downpours battered parts of the region, causing flash floods.
Coastal states have been preparing for the cyclone, the fifth strongest category on the scale of seven types of storms in India, and more than a lakh of people were evacuated from low-lying areas. Nivar has forced the authorities to declare a holiday until Thursday, close the Chennai airport and metro services.
Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister E Palaniswami called on people to stay indoors as long as possible, saying more than 4,000 “vulnerable” places have been identified and local officials have been told to ensure the safety of people.
Here are the live updates from Cyclone Nivar:
Severe cyclonic storm ” Nivar ” is likely to continue to move northwestward and further weaken into a cyclonic storm over the next six hours, India’s Meteorological Department (IMD), Goa reported on Tuesday.
The storm crossed the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry from 11:30 pm Wednesday night to 2:30 pm Thursday and moved west-northwest at a speed of 9 km / h in the last six hours .
“The very severe cyclonic storm Nivar over the southwest of the Bay of Bengal moved west-northwest with a speed of 9 km / h for the last six hours and crossed the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry near Puducherry from 11 : 30 pm Wednesday night until 2:30 am today as a very severe cyclonic storm with an estimated wind speed of 120-130 km / h with gusts of 145 km / h, “said IMD.
As Cyclonic Storm Nivar crept closer to shore, residents of one of the areas hardest hit during the 2015 flood in Chennai found an overpass as the safest place to park their cars and prevent them from submerging. .
Determined to avoid a repeat of the 2015 scenario when dozens of four-wheelers filled with flood waters, several residents of Madipakkam in the southern part of the city left their vehicles on the side of the bridge overlooking the Mass Rapid train station. Transit System in nearby Velacherry. read more
Cyclone Nivar makes landfall; Heavy rains in Chennai, Puducherry: 10 pointsCyclone Nivar made landfall late at night near Puducherry. The tropical storm has weakened from a “very severe cyclonic storm” to a “severe cyclonic storm” with a wind speed of 100-110 kilometers per hour, with gusts of up to 120 kilometers per hour, the meteorological office said in a statement. . Coastal states have been preparing for the cyclone, the fifth strongest category on the scale of seven types of storms in India, and more than a lakh of people were evacuated from low-lying areas. Nivar brought heavy rain and strong winds and forced authorities to declare a public holiday until Thursday, close Chennai airport and metro services.
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