Cyclone Nilam on Wednesday evening made landfall between Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Pondicherry. The landfall will last for two hours. Chennai has already experienced strong winds at the speed of 40-65 km/hour.
The meteorological department had earlier issued a red alert about a cyclone warning for North Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and coastal parts of southern Andhra Pradesh.
It had rained heavily in many places in Chennai. The weather department had predicted that Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and south Andhra Pradesh will experience gale wind speed between 100 kmph and 110 kmph in the next 24 hours.
Andhra Story:
Heavy rain lashed Andhra Pradesh’s coastal districts under the impact of Cyclone Nilam, whose intensity is expected to increase by Wednesday evening.
Many parts of Nellore and Prakasam districts in south coastal Andhra and Chittoor district in Rayalaseema region have been receiving heavy rain accompanied by strong winds since Tuesday night, officials said.
An alert has been sounded in the south coastal districts of Nellore, Guntur, Prakasam and Krishna. The sea conditions have turned rough with high waves lashing the coast in Nellore. The sea water gushed up to 100 metres from shoreline in some villages.
The education department has declared a holiday for educational institutions in Chittoor and Nellore districts. Roads and low-lying areas were inundated – this included the temple town of Tirupati in Chittoor district.
Warning signals were put out at Machilipatnam, Krishnapatnam, Nizampatnam and Vadarevu ports.
According to Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning centre, Nilam would cross north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast between Puducherry and Nellore Wednesday evening.
The Met Office has warned fishermen against venturing out into the sea. It also advised people in coastal areas to remain indoors and take all precautions at the time of the storm’s landfall.
An Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin said Nilam was centred about 260 km south-southeast of Chennai at 8.30 a.m. Wednesday.
Gale wind speeds reaching 90 to 100 kmph and even higher would hit north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts during next 24 hours, according to the warning.
Storm surges of about 1 to 1.5 metres over the astronomical tide are likely to inundate low-lying areas of Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur of Tamil Nadu as well as Nellore.
Extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts and minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large avenue trees is feared.