Cyclone Gulab wreaks havoc in Vizag; light rainfall likely in next 24 hours

It was a rain-filled Sunday for the people of Vizag, as Cyclone Gulab struck the city this weekend. Heavy rains were witnessed in most parts of the city, with dangerously strong winds. Fortunately, the cyclone made landfall on Sunday when most people were within their homes. Certain low-lying areas of Vizag were the worst-hit by the cyclone, flooded by the relentless rainfall. In other areas, trees had fallen and walls had perished. Reportedly, quite a few areas had also suffered from power outages. The citizens got to witness all this on Monday morning as the aftermath of a stormy night. 

Simhachalam was the worst-hit of all areas in the city, having recorded rainfall over 400 mm within a day. Due to landslides on the Simhachalam hill, the ghat roads to the temple got closed. Areas like Railway New Colony, Pendurthi and Gopalapatnam in Vizag crossed the 300 mm mark, thanks to Cyclone Gulab. Recording over 250 mm rainfall within 24 hours, the roads of Gajuwaka were seen to be flooded entirely. 

Here’s the areawise 24-hour rainfall data (in mm) for Visakhapatnam, as of 8 am:

Simhachalam- 405

Adavivaram- 390

Railway New Colony- 315

Kancharapalem- 312

Pendurthi- 309

Gopalapatnam- 306

Dwaraka Nagar- 295

Seethammadhara- 286

NAD- 263

Isukathota- 266

Gajuwaka- 253

Paravada- 246

Pedagantyada- 242

Beach Road- 237

Malkapuram- 231

MVP Colony- 223

Madhavadhara- 221

Kailasagiri- 219

Pedda Waltair- 201

Anakapalli- 190

Sagar Nagar- 182

Yendada- 165

Kapuluppada- 153

Madhurawada- 146

Now, as Cyclone Gulab moves on from Vizag, the city is expected to experience light bursts of rain over the next 24 hours. After that, the weather in the city is expected to return to normalcy. 

Predicting Cyclone Gulab, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a yellow alert and a cyclone warning on Saturday, asking fishermen not to venture into the sea. Rainfall began in the city in the early hours of Sunday morning. After that, the rainfall continued at a heavy rate for the majority of the day. The storm showed signs of receding only after midnight.