While the whole South Indian eastern coast is well prepared for the arrival of the cyclonic storm Vardah, its intensity does not seem to lower down as observed by the weather department. The city of Chennai and its suburbs continue to receive rainfall since Sunday night and the severe cyclonic storm is expected to make a landfall today afternoon along the coast of north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast. An IMD release stated that the landfall will be accompanied by strong winds with an average speed of 80-90 kmph and heavy rainfall.
Earlier, this cyclonic storm was expected to weaken on its landfall but according to the Cyclone Warning Division of the India Meteorological Department, (IMD), Vardah, which is currently a very severe cyclonic storm, will weaken but only to a severe cyclonic storm and this is a big threat for the people living on the coast. At 9:30 on Monday morning, the cyclone was around 105 kms away from the Chennai coast and by the time it makes a landfall on the north Tamil Nadu coast, the speed of wind can reach upto 120 kmph. While the speed of wind in a very severe cyclonic storm is around 120-130 kmph, the speed of wind in a severe storm is about 80-110 kmph. This cyclonic storm over Bay of Bengal moved further at a speed of around 13 kmpl and the MET department has predicted heavy rainfall in south coastal Andhra Pradesh, north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for the next 36 hours {till Wednesday}.
The tidal wave of about one meter high above the astronomical height is very likely to inundate the low lying areas of Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram districts of Tamil Nadu and Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. Most of the schools, colleges and IT offices in Chennai have already declared a holiday today while the other employees have decided to work from home. The Labour department of Tamil Nadu have issued an advisory asking all private institutions in the north coastal Tamil Nadu to permit their staff a leave or work from home today. P. Sai Baba, a Machilipatnam Revenue Divisional Officer says that,”over 50,000 have been identified and evacuated based on the weather conditions by evening”.
Residents living on the coast line along the Bay of Bengal are requested to stay in and avoid going on while taking measures to keep yourselves and your families safe.
Helpline number
Chennai Corporation Whatsapp – 94454 77207, 94454 77203, 94454 77206, 9445477201, 94454 77205.
Chennai Corporation Helplines – 25619206, 25619511, 25384965, 25383694, 25367823, 25387570.
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