Cyclone Michaung to make landfall in Andhra soon, 8 dead in Chennai rains

Andhra Pradesh, December 05: Cyclone Michaung (pronounced migjaum) is likely to make landfall between Nellore and Machilipatnam, close to Bapatla, in Andhra Pradesh, on Tuesday at 11 am as the severe cyclonic storm continues to intensify over the Bay of Bengal. The weather system brought in heavy bouts of rain in several places across Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu in the past couple of hours.

In Chennai, heavy rainfall due to the influence of Cyclone Michaung, roads turned into rivers and vehicles were swept away on Monday, forcing authorities to declare educational institutions shut. Private offices asked their employees to work from home till the situation improves. The rainfall, coupled with strong winds, brought down trees, walls and electric poles. Eight people were killed in the Tamil Nadu capital in rain-related incidents.Floodwaters entered government hospitals, resulting in the temporary suspension of healthcare services, while there were cases of waterlogging at metro stations. Videos of a mugger crocodile crossing a submerged road also went viral on social media. The continuous downpour resulted in power outages and internet disruptions.

The cyclone took a hit on transportation services, with several trains and flights cancelled. The Chennai airport runway was flooded as no flights were available till 9 am on Tuesday, causing chaos and inconvenience to passengers.In its latest communication via X, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, “Severe cyclonic storm Michaung over west-central Bay of Bengal off south Andhra Pradesh and adjoining north Tamil Nadu coasts moved north-northwestwards with a speed of 7 kmph during past 6 hours and lay centered at 2:30 am about 20 km north-northeast of Nellore, 170 km north of Chennai, 150 km south of Bapatla and 210 km south-southwest of Machilipatnam. As the system is nearly moving northwards close to coast, some parts of the wall cloud region lies over land.”

“Likely to move nearly northwards parallel and close to south Andhra Pradesh coast and cross south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam, close to Bapatla during forenoon of December 5 (Tuesday) as a severe cyclonic storm,” the IMD added.

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