The cyclone Nivar made a landfall near the costal town of Marakkanam in Tamil Nadu, 30 km north of Puducherry at around 2:30 am. The cyclone had weakened from a “very severe cyclonic storm” to a “severe cyclonic storm”.
The damage assessment due to the cyclone is on and the state governments say they have been working on “war-footing” amid heavy rainfall and flooding in many parts.
The Union Territory of Puducherry saw an unprecedented rainfall of 20 cm in the last 20 hours, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said.
“Puducherry has been waterlogged, and lots of trees have fallen,” he said this morning. There is power disruption in many parts of the union territory and Cuddalore town of Tamil Nadu after the power supply was cut during the landfall accompanied by strong winds.
The storm originated in Bay of Bengal, forced authorities in the southern states to declare a public holiday till Thursday including the closure of Chennai airport and metro services.
The cyclone “has completely moved to the land, and “it has weakened into a severe cyclonic storm; it would further weaken into a cyclonic storm in the next six hours. Heavy rain would continue,” Dr S Balachandran, Director at Chennai’s Meteorological Department, said.
Officials at the Chennai International Airport have resumed flight services. British Airways 0035 (B789) from Heathrow Airport was the first to land post resumption of operations.