Andhra, Tamil Nadu gear up for cylone Mandaus
The India Metreological Department (IMD) said the cyclone is likely to make landfall between Puducherry and Sriharikota in the early hours of December 10.
The Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh governments on Wednesday directed authorities to be on alert as Cyclone Mandous approached, officials familiar with the matter said.
The India Metreological Department (IMD) said the cyclone is likely to make landfall between Puducherry and Sriharikota in the early hours of December 10.
“Mandous may weaken slightly before landfall but it’s likely to continue to remain a cyclone when it enters the coast. We are expecting wind speeds of 65 to 75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph during landfall,” IMD director general M MohapatraI said.
Officials said the cyclone was unlikely to cause large-scale damage.
“Some models are showing that Mandous will degenerate into a deep depression before landfall. It will bring good rainfall to the coast. We are not expecting major damage or impact. It is a fast-moving system and hence will not have enough time to intensify while it is over deep sea,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president, climate and meteorology, Skymet Weather.
The IMD has issued a red category warning for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and South Andhra Pradesh coasts for Friday in view of the heavy rainfall that is expected.
Tamil Nadu’s department of revenue and disaster management has readied more than 5,000 relief camps across the state to relocate people from low-lying areas, the government said. The Greater Chennai Corporation has prepared 169 relief centres and deployed 807 water pumps in flood-prone areas to pump out rain water, officials said.
“State Emergency Operation Center and District level Emergency Operation Centers are operational round the clock with additional officers,” Tamil Nadu’s minister for revenue and disaster management, KKSSR Ramachandran said.
In Andhra Pradesh, the authorities were setting up control rooms from the block-level to the state level to oversee relief operations in case the need arises, officials said.
“Instructions have also been issued to strengthen the bunds of irrigation canals, tanks and reservoirs, so that there would be no breaches anywhere, resulting in inundation of low-lying areas and damage to standing crops,” chief secretary Jawahar Reddy said.