Tamil Nadu government issued an advisory asking people to stay indoors on Monday, with extremely heavy rainfall (20cm and above) being anticipated by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) during the day. The very severe cyclonic storm Vardah makes landfall around afternoon on Sunday.
As the natural calamity is expected, the state government with the Indian Navy and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), has deployed rescue personnel and equipment along the coast.
Notably, the schools and colleges are to remain shut on Monday.
Besides, the Ennore port, anticipating winds at high speeds, issued a signal 10 warning.
Rainfall accompanied with gusty winds lashed the metropolis and neighbouring districts on Monday. Chennai is likely to see stormy winds of over 100 kmph after 22 years. The last such events occurred in October 1994 when the wind speed varied between 116 and 132 kmph.
On the other hand, Cyclone Vardah has also raised hopes of people for the parched-Chennai and Tamil Nadu. The states so far recorded a shortfall of around 60 per cent this northeast monsoon.
“Moderate to heavy rainfall can be witnessed in North Tamil Nadu, with few places predicted to receive heavy to heavy rainfall. Extreme rains exceeding 20 cm can be witnessed in one or two places near the landfall,” S Balachandran, Director of Regional Meteorological Centre, told Deccan Chronicle.
The Chief Minister of the state O Pannerselvam appointed senior IAS officers as monitoring officers for the four districts that could be affected by the cyclone. The arrangements were also made to evacuate people living in low-lying areas to safety.
