Several flights were cancelled at the Chennai and Vishakhapatnam airports on Tuesday due to the severe cyclonic storm Asani, PTI reported.
Ten flights headed to Chennai, including those originating from Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Jaipur and Mumbai, have been cancelled. Passengers were informed about the cancellations on Monday, the Chennai Airport Authority said.
Vishakhapatnam International Airport Director Srinivasa Rao said that all IndiGo flights – 23 arrivals and 23 departures – have been cancelled, according to The New Indian Express. He added that all Air Asia and Air India flights – two arrivals and two departures – scheduled for Tuesday have also been cancelled.
Heavy rains lashed parts of Vishakhapatnam, Nellore and Tirupati districts in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.
In Tamil Nadu, the districts of Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Erode received heavy showers.
The India Meteorological Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rains in parts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh and heavy rains at isolated places in coastal Odisha on Tuesday night. It has also predicted heavy to very heavy rains in Odisha on Wednesday and light to moderate rains on Thursday.
Bhabataran Sahu, the sub-collector of the Puri district in Odisha, said that the administration has set up 179 cyclone shelters for relief purposes, ANI reported. He added that authorities were prepared to launch evacuation operations in low-lying areas.
At 11.30 am, the cyclone was centered about 210 kilometres to the south-east of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. It is expected to move towards the coasts of Kakinada and Vishakhapatnam by Wednesday, after which it will move along the Andhra Pradesh coast and then weaken into a cyclonic storm, the weather department said.
A map shared by the agency on Twitter suggested that it was unclear whether the cyclone would make landfall at all. On Sunday, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohaptra had said that the cyclone would not make landfall in either Odisha or Andhra Pradesh, according to PTI.
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