Cyclone Nivar weakens, but heavy rain in Chennai and Puducherry

Cyclone Nivar, which has weakened from a ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ to a ‘severe cyclonic storm’, made landfall near the coastal town of Marakkanam in Tamil Nadu, 30km north of Puducherry at around 2.30am on November 26.

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

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.

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.