The Tamil Nadu government has announced holiday for schools and colleges in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and parts of Vilupuram on Monday in view of the impending cyclone Vardah that is expected to make a landfall in the afternoon. On Sunday evening, Vardah was brewing 300 km east northeast of Chennai. Weather officials told NDTV that the cyclone is expected to make a landfall near Pilucat, about 60 km away from Chennai.
The severe cyclone is likely to bring heavy rainfall for north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh. Chennai is predicted to witness around 20 cm of rainfall in two or more localities, reported The Times of India. “Chennai can expect winds travelling up to 100kmph for about an hour when Vardah makes landfall. The storm will subside by evening,” Skymet weather chief meteorologist Mahesh Palawat told the daily.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who chaired a meeting on Sunday, asked all the state disaster management authority to make all arrangements to evacuate people in low lying and vulnerable areas. Fishermen have been asked to not venture into the sea for the next 48 hours while a tidal wave warning has been issued in different districts of Tamil Nadu, reported The Hindu. The state government has also issued an advisory to private firms, asking them to let employees avail leave on Monday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, on the other hand, asked the local administration in Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna districts to be alert. “Keep adequate stocks of food and cash. Electricity poles and cement should also be kept ready for any emergency,” he told officials. Four senior bureaucrats have been sent to Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa and Prakasam districts to monitor the rescue and relief operations, reported The Indian Express.
The National Disaster Response Force said it is prepared to tackle the situation. NDRF Director General RK Pachnanda had said on Sunday that they have already positioned five teams in Andhra Pradesh and six in Tamil Nadu. Besides, the Indian Navy has also been kept on stand-by. Ships with additional divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats, integral helicopters and relief material like food, tents, clothes, medicines and blankets, are ready to be deployed. A Navy official told NDTV that the relief materials are adequate for over 5,000 people.
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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