On December 5, Cyclone Michaung is expected to make landfall along the shores of Andhra Pradesh and north Tamil Nadu.
The India Meteorological Department announced on Monday that cyclonic storm “Michaung” has intensified into a strong cyclone.
By December 5 in the afternoon, the storm is predicted to make landfall in the west central Bay of Bengal near the beaches of south Andhra Pradesh and north Tamil Nadu.
The cyclonic storm is currently over the Southwest Bay of Bengal, but by Monday afternoon, it is expected to continue moving northwest, intensify much more, and approach the West Central Bay of Bengal off the beaches of south Andhra Pradesh and neighboring north Tamil Nadu.
“It is anticipated to escalate gradually and move nearly northwards almost parallel and close to south Andhra Pradesh coastline and cross South Andhra Pradesh coastline across Nellore and Machilipatnam, close to Bapatla during afternoon of December 5 as a ‘Severe Cyclonic Storm’ with a highest sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph,” according to the weather bureau.
Heavy rain falls in Chennai
Some parts of Chennai were seriously flooded on Monday due to the heavy rainfall caused by Cyclone Michaung. Several low-lying areas, including hospitals and multiple residential neighborhoods, experienced flooding even while public works personnel removed the excess water.
Trains and airplanes have also been negatively impacted by the weather.
The Chennai bench of the Madras High Court as well as all of the city’s district courts are now closed.
Waterlogging has been observed in a number of city areas, including Maduravoyal, Porur, Saligaramam, and Valasaravakkam. Trees have been uprooted by strong winds multiple times.
The bad weather has caused a number of trains and aircraft to be either canceled or delayed.
Chennai canceled at least 12 domestic outbound routes, including those to places like Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad.
A private airline also canceled four foreign routes, including ones to Dubai and Sri Lanka, citing unnamed officials. Three foreign services that were arriving were rerouted to Bengaluru.
Similar to this, heavy rainfall caused the water level at Bridge No. 14 between Vyasarpadi and Basin Bridge to approach the danger mark, forcing the cancellation of 11 express trains from Chennai Central.
The trains have been adjusted as follows due to the excessive rain in Chennai and the water level crossing Bridge No. 14 between Basin Bridge and Vyasarpady stations. Please review and make appropriate travel plans. We apologize for any trouble this has caused,” the Southern Railway Divisional Railway Manager for Chennai wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Additionally, all suburban train services in the Chennai suburban parts have been temporarily halted until Monday at eight in the morning.
In the upcoming days, cyclone Michaung is predicted to cause significant rainfall in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. In response to the weather warning, Tamil Nadu has already proclaimed a public holiday.
Due to the rain, all district courts in Chennai as well as the Madras High Court’s main bench would be closed.
Section 144 is enforced in Puducherry’s coastal areas
The Puducherry district administration has enforced Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code on the coastal districts near Pudhucherry’s seafront in response to Cyclone Michaung, according to ANI.
All people’s movement in the coastal areas close to the shoreline is prohibited by the government from 7 p.m. on December 3 to 6 p.m. on December 5. To avoid any loss of life or property, the necessary action has been taken.
Any individual violating this order shall be liable to be punished with imprisonment for time which may extend to six months, or with fine or both” , according to the official notice.
