New Delhi: Four died as heavy rains lashed several parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Andhra Pradesh accompanied by gusty surface winds as the cyclonic storm Mandous made landfall off Mamallapuram in north Tamil Nadu around Friday midnight.
According to The Hindu, howling winds in several districts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry disrupted the power supply till Saturday morning, as several trees fell to the ground due to heavy winds.
“The cyclonic storm Mandous (meaning treasure box) weakened into a deep depression over north Tamil Nadu coast. To move nearly west-northwestwards and gradually weaken into a depression by noon of December 10,” the IMD Chennai said in a tweet in the early hours of Saturday.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu revenue and disaster management minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, citing initial estimates, said there was no major damage as expected. Over 9,000 persons have been lodged in 205 relief centres, he added.
Civic agencies, including the Greater Chennai Corporation here, were involved in removing the fallen trees. Power remained suspended in many parts of the city and the surroundings.
According to the Chennai city police, nearly 100 trees fell in different parts of the metro, and 52 have been removed in coordination with its personnel. Power poles fell down in five locations and three had been cleared.
Vehicular traffic, which has been suspended on the Kamarajar Salai off Marina beach in Chennai, has been resumed, police said. Subways did not suffer waterlogging.
Between 6 am on Friday and 6 am on Saturday, a total of 30 domestic and international flights were cancelled as airport operations were affected due to the cyclone. The airport runway was briefly closed in the early hours today.
Besides, nine outbound flights were cancelled while 21 incoming airplanes were diverted to other cities today.
In the past 121 years (1891-2021), 12 cyclones have crossed the coast between Chennai and Puducherry. Cyclone Mandous was the 13th to make landfall in the region.
Andhra Pradesh
Many parts of the south coastal and Rayalaseema districts of Andhra Pradesh received torrential rains early on Saturday after cyclonic storm Mandous made landfall off Mamallapuram in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
According to a status report of the AP government, Naidupeta in Tirupati district received the highest rainfall at 281.5 mm during the past 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Saturday.
A senior official of the State Disaster Management Authority told PTI that the intensity of the rains has come down as of now at 8.30 am.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy held a review meeting with officials concerned on the cyclone-related rains. He instructed the collectors of SPSR Nellore, Tirupati, Chittoor and Annamayya districts to be on alert and open relief camps wherever there is a need.
Reddy also directed the officials to ensure people would not venture out in those areas where heavy rains are expected.
As a precautionary measure, the state government shifted 190 people to 28 relief camps in the Tirupati district.
SPSR Nellore and Tirupati districts were placed on alert due to the possibility of flash floods in the minor rivers Kandaleru, Maneru and Swarnamuki, according to a government report.
The list of vulnerable mandals and villages has been sent to the districts for taking necessary precautionary measures, the report said.
As many as 150 SDRF and 95 NDRF personnel have been deployed in four districts to be pressed into service in case of any eventuality.
Cyclone alert messages have been sent through the common alert protocol (CAP) to as many as 89 lakh subscribers spread across the six districts which are likely to be affected due to heavy rains during December 8-10, according to official information.
(With PTI inputs)