Nivar cyclone: IMD predicts heavy rainfall in TN, Puducherry

The Deep Depression over the South West Bay of Bengal has intensified into the cyclonic storm “Nivar,” early Tuesday morning.  It has triggered widespread rain in several districts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Chennai and its suburbs have witnessed intermittent rain since Monday evening.The MET Department in Chennai says the Cyclone Nivar is moving north westwards at a speed of 5-km per hour for the past six hours.It currently lies 450 km south east of Chennai and 410 km south east of Puducherry. It is very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm in the next 24-hours.It is set to cross the coast between Karaikal and Mamallapuram, close to Puducherry, Wednesday evening.
During its landfall, the wind speed is expected to be in the range of 100 to 110 km an hour, gushing to 120 km per hour. District administrations in the vicinity of the cyclone have identified houses with thatched roofs and weak structures to evacuate the people to safety. Shelters and relief centres have been established with sufficient social distancing