Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday held a review meeting as a cyclone, Vardah, inched closer to the state’s coast. Vardah is also expected to hit the coast of Tamil Nadu. Naidu has reportedly cancelled a trip to Saudi Arabia because of the approaching cyclone. At the review meeting, he asked administrators and officials to take all precautionary measures.
The cyclone is expected to cross the states in the next two days. “The cyclonic storm is very likely to maintain its peak intensity up to evening of December 11, 2016,” the National Disaster Management Authority said. The Tamil Nadu Meteorological Department has predicted Vardah will make a landfall between Nellore and Machilipatnam on December 12.
According to Skymetweather, wind speed of up to 130 kmph is expected, along with heavy rainfall, once the cyclone makes landfall. Fishermen on Saturday were asked not to venture into the sea.
More than 2,000 tourists were stranded on the Andaman islands because of heavy rainfall and the storm caused by the deep depression over the Bay of Bengal. They were all rescued by the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard on Saturday.
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