Tamil Nadu prepares to face cyclone, NDRF team on alert
Chennai : Nivar, a severe cyclonic storm, is likely to make a landfall in Tamil Nadu coast between Karaikal and Mamallapuram on November 25 (Wednesday); the wind speed is likely to be around 100 to 120 kmph, bringing extreme rainfall in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry of up to 20 cms in a day.
The depression lay centered about 520km east-southeast of Puducherry and 560km south-east of Chennai on Monday. The IMD said that it will get transformed into a cyclone in the next 24 hours.
Under its influence, rainfall is likely to increase substantially over south peninsular India from November 23 with widespread rainfall and thunderstorm activity over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal during November 24-26 and over south coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalseema and Telangana during November 25-26.
“Nivar is an Iranian name. It is from a list of cyclone names suggested by the 13 north Indian Ocean countries affected by cyclones in the region. Three cyclones have already occurred this year, Amphan, Nisarga and Gati, which made landfall on the Somalia coast on Sunday night,” said RK Jenamani, senior scientist, national weather forecasting centre.
Meanwhile, NDRF teams have been put on alert to combat the situation.
"Cabinet secretary Rajeev Gauba mentioned that the advisories to fishermen not to go into the sea should be strictly implemented. People living in ‘kutcha’ houses may be advised suitably according to the situation," said an official press release.
The previous cyclone to make landfall in Tamil Nadu was Gaja (classified as a very severe cyclonic storm) during the northeast monsoon in mid-November 2018. It claimed 46 lives and left a trail of destruction, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless, primarily across 10 districts.