JOIN USCyclone Mandous likely to make landfall near Chennai
The Deep Depression over the Bay of Bengal is very likely to intensify into Cyclone Mandous on Thursday morning and might make landfall between Puducherry and Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh by the morning of December 10, bringing heavy to very heavy rains to most parts of Tamil Nadu.
The cyclone named as Mandous (treasure box in Arabic) by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will pack wind speed of 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph during the early hours of Saturday before the landfall. Weather bloggers said the cyclone might make landfall near Mamallapuram on Saturday morning if the IMD’s prediction comes true.
“The Deep Depression will continue to move west-north-westwards and cross north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coast between Puducherry and Sriharikota with a maximum sustained wind speed of 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph around early hours of December 10,” the IMD said in its latest bulletin.
The bulletin said heavy to very heavy rain will occur at isolated places over Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Pudukkottai districts of Tamil Nadu and Karaikal in Puducherry, while Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Tiruchirappalli, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts will receive heavy rains.
Northern districts like Chennai, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tirupattur, Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur districts will also receive heavy rainfall for the next few days.
As the landfall is likely to be near Chennai, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) held a meeting to assess the preparedness at the Chennai International Airport on Wednesday. Dr Sharad Kumar, Airport Director, said all teams have been kept on standby and the contingency plan would be activated as the situation unfolds and the airport team is ready for any emergency situations.
The state government has deployed 10 NDRF and SDRF teams in districts that are considered vulnerable to floods, while Revenue Minister K K S S R Ramachandran said the government has kept over 5,200 relief camps ready across the state to move people living in low-lying areas there.
The NDRF teams are equipped with flood rescue equipment, collapsed structure search and rescue equipment, appropriate communication equipment, and suitable personal protective equipment. The 24x7 control room of the NDRF in Arakkonam is closely monitoring the situation round the clock, the agency said.