Over one lakh people have been evacuated from coastal areas and power supply was disconnected in vulnerable areas as a precautionary measure.

#WATCH Chennai witnessing spell of strong winds after #Cyclone Nivar made landfall near Puducherry late last night#TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/jZZB3FCJUX

— ANI (@ANI) November 26, 2020

Chennai’s Meteorological Department said that the cyclone has completely moved to the land and “it has weakened into a severe cyclonic storm. In the next six hours it would further weaken into a cyclonic storm in the next six hours. Heavy rain would also continue.

The tropical storm, which emerged in Bay of Bengal, forced authorities in the southern state to declare a public holiday till Thursday. Metro stations were closed. The Chennai Airport resumed operations after closing it for 12 hours in the wake of the cyclone. However over 70 Chennai flights were cancelled.

Puducherry and coastal districts of Tamil Nadu including Cuddalore and Nagapattinam, continue to receive rain and experience heavy winds.

Tamil Nadu: Eraiyanur village fishermen in Villupuram district experience less than expected damage from cyclone Nivar

"We're happy that cyclone hasn't affected us much. A day ahead we shifted our boats. Now the waves are high. We cannot fish till next week," says a fisherman pic.twitter.com/wDlErkrlnK

— ANI (@ANI) November 26, 2020

Around 1,200 National Disaster Response Force personnel have been stationed in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh as well. Twelve teams are in Tamil Nadu (six in Cuddalore district and two in Chennai), seven in Andhra Pradesh and three in Puducherry. An additional 20 teams will be on standby in Odisha’s Cuttack, Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh and Thrissur in Kerala.

Government officials in Chennai released water from a major reservoir and cleared fallen trees. Vessels in the city’s port have been moved to sea and port operations will likely remain shut until the cyclone has passed.

With memories of the 2015 floods still fresh, Tamil Nadu is also monitoring four other reservoirs in anticipation of a rapid rise in water levels.

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Tamil Nadu and Puducherry had earlier declared November 24 a public holiday. Many trains and and flights have been cancelled. All three ports in Chennai have been closed.

Puducherry streets are deserted since Thursday morning as locals stay indoors in the anticipation of severe cyclonic storm Nivar.

The Indian Meterological Department suggests that by the outer ring of the cyclone will start moving towards the land and the eye of the storm will make landfall soon after that. The likely location of the landfall will be somewhere between Mahabalipuram and Puducherry.

IMD alerted that Cyclone Nivar is gradually intensifying. It could cause structural damage, uprooting of tress, damage to the thatched/tin houses and damage to banana and paddy crops. There will be strong winds and heavy rains.

The NDRF and other response team are on high alert as the cyclone is likely to hit the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry hard. Very heavy rain is likely in several districts of Tamil Nadu. More heavy to very heavy rain expected in isolated places in TN, Puducherry.

Southern Railway cancelled more train for November 26 and November 27.

South-Western railways also cancelled two trains scheduled for tomorrow in view of the cyclone.

South-Western Railways cancels two trains scheduled for tomorrow in view of #CycloneNivar. pic.twitter.com/CzXvU6vgHp

— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2020

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The cyclone could hit the coast between Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu (which is around 56 km from state capital Chennai) and Karaikal in Puduchery.

The cyclone will bring extremely heavy rainfall and winds between 120 and 130 km per hour with gusts of upto 145 km per hour. The Regional Meterological Center in Chennai has advised, adding that coastal areas could receive heavy rain till tomorrow.

Chembarambakkam Lake reservoir gates are opened for first time since 2015 and the discharge is likely to increase the water flow in Chennai’s Adyar river.

More than 1,000 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in Tamil Nadu. NDRF has so far deployed 30 teams across the three states, while 20 more teams have been kept on standby for immediate deployment.

About 15 districts of the three states are expected to be hit by the cyclone and a population of several thousand living in low-lying areas along the river are being evacuated.

The Tamil Nadu Government also ordered removal of all hoardings as precaution.

The Indian Navy is closely monitoring the movement of Nivar, and is in constant touch with officials of both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry governments. Naval ships, aircrafts and rescue and diving teams have been kept standby.

The coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh are also likely to be affected by the cyclone Nivar.

In May, “super cyclone” Amphan wreaked havoc on eastern India and Bangladesh in May, flattening villages, destroying farms and leaving millions without electricity.

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