At least five people were killed and several others injured in Tamil Nadu as severe cyclone Nivar made a landfall around 2.30 am with winds of up to 130 kilometre per hour into the Puducherry coast on Thursday. The fierce winds uprooted trees and toppled electricity pylons while downpour lashed parts of the region, causing flash floods in several areas in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Airport operations, Metrorail and bus transport resumed after 14 hours. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Tamil Nadu is likely to receive another spell of very heavy rainfall as a fresh low pressure area is expected to form in the Bay of Bengal from November 29 onwards.
Meanwhile, as the intensity of the storm weakened, section 144 of CrPC imposed in Puducherry was revoked. According to initial estimates, thousand acres of paddy crops have been destroyed in southern States. While the damage assessment is on, the State Governments said they were working on “war-footing” amid heavy rainfall and flooding in many parts.
Five people have lost their lives and several others injured due to the cyclonic storm in Tamil Nadu, whereas no loss of life has been reported from Puducherry. On its way the cyclone also damaged several houses, uprooted trees and power lines in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore, Marakkanam and in Puducherry also.
A total of 101 houses, including thatched huts and tiled houses were damaged by cyclone. From Andhra Pradesh, news is coming of one death. Hundreds of trees were uprooted and water-logging was also reported from several areas of the affected regions. Heavy rains caused waterlogging in these States.
More than two lakh people were evacuated to safety in the two coastal States that had been bracing for the cyclone the fifth-strongest category on India’s scale of seven storm types.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday spoke to Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and assured them of all possible help from the Centre in the wake of severe cyclonic storm Nivar. “We are closely monitoring the situation in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the wake of Cyclone Nivar. Have spoken to CM Edappadi Karuppa Palaniswami and CM V Narayanaswamy and assured all possible help from the Centre. NDRF teams already on the ground to help people in need”, Shah tweeted.
“Operations have resumed at #AAI #ChennaiAirport at 0900hrs,” the Chennai Airport tweeted and it also tagged domestic arrival and departure schedule and requested passengers to check with airline operators for updates. After resumption of airport operation at Chennai, a British Airways flight from Heathrow was the first to land at the airport after the cyclone at 9 am. Limited suburban train services were also resumed. A car lies buried under an uprooted tree after heavy rain following the landfall of Nivar in Puducherry.
Under its influence, some of the significant rainfall recorded are (in cm): Chengalpattu-31; Pondicherry-30; Cuddalore-28; Sholinganallur- 22; Kavali, Vanur and Nellore- 14 each; Tirupathi-13; Poondi and Numgambakkam-12; Vandavasi-11; and Vellore-8. Police rescued a drunk man and his pet cat from a house whose front portion was collapsed during rain in Chennai on Wednesday night.
According to the IMD, the very severe cyclone ‘Nivar’ that hit the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts during the small hours of Thursday weakened two rounds into a cyclone the same afternoon, and was expected to weaken as a deep depression and further into a depression into the night.
It is currently lay centered over north coastal Tamil Nadu , about 85 kms north-northwest of Puducherry and 95 west-southwest of Chennai. Parts of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu witnessed heavy rains through the night. The danger “is not over yet as some part of the cyclone is still over the sea though center is over the land,” the IMD tweeted. Initially classified as a “very severe cyclonic storm” as it swirled in the Bay of Bengal, Nivar weakened after landfall into a “severe cyclonic storm”, the IMD said.
According to IMD, a low pressure area will likely be formed over south Bay of Bengal around November 29. This is expected to become more marked and move in a westwardly direction towards south Tamil Nadu.
Normal life was thrown out of gear as heavy to extremely heavy rainfall ranging from 6 cm to 30 cm battered at least half of Andhra Pradesh under the influence of cyclone Nivar, leaving one dead. Another farmer was feared washed away while NDRF personnel rescued two others from a reservoir in Chittoor district