Cyclone Mandous highlights: No large scale damage due to storm, says Tamil Nadu CM Stalin

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said Saturday that the estimation of loss due to the cyclone Mandous was being done and if required Central assistance would also be sought.

Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam on Saturday wrote to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy stating the failure of his administration in handling the Mandous Cyclone in Andhra Pradesh.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader and former Tamil Nadu minister D Jayakumar on Saturday reviewed an area that was affected by Mandous cyclone near Chennai Kasimedu harbour.

In Tamil Nadu, nearly 25,000 people, including disaster relief personnel, were involved in the relief work, and over 9,000 people have moved to safety in 201 relief camps, CM Stalin said.

Apart from death of four people, report of 98 cattles killed due to the cyclone and damage to 181 residences have been reported, as per CM Stalin.

The NASA explains the terms "hurricane" and "typhoon" are just the regional names for tropical cyclones and there’s no difference between them. “All tropical cyclones are alike in that they draw heat from warm water at the ocean's surface to power horizontal, rotating wind,” it says. Read more.

The KVB Puram Mandal in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati district on Saturday recorded the highest rainfall at 258mm due to Tropical Cyclone Mandous, reported ANI.

In Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor, several areas in KVB Puram Mandal such as Kovanur, Thimmasamudram, Rajula Kandiga face overflow of rivers due to heavy rainfall in the region, roads submerged and traffic disrupted.

After cyclone 'Sitrang' which had largely affected Odisha, West Bengal, and North Andhra Pradesh in October, the recent storm Mandous is named after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) proposal; it means "treasure box" in Arabic. Read more.

4 people were killed in rain-related incidents, said Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin.

Waterlogging is being reported near Marina beach in Chennai in Tamil Nadu. and several boats and food stalls have been reportedly damaged.

Estimation of the loss was being done and if required Central assistance will be sought, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said.

Earlier, state Revenue and Disaster Management Minister K K S S R Ramachandran said over 9,000 people have been lodged in 205 relief centres.

“More than 200 people have been relocated to camps, and around 9,000 provided with food,” Gagandeep Bedi, Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation said. 

Cyclone Mandous has weakened into a deep depression. The deep depression over north Tamil Nadu moved nearly west-southwestwards with a speed of 9 kmph during the past 6 hours and lay centered at 8.30am today over north Tamil Nadu about 40 km west-southwest of Vellore and 140 km east-northeast of Krishnagiri. It is very likely to move nearly west-southwestwards and gradually weaken into a depression during next 6 hours.

A portion of a 'permanent ramp' that was recently installed at Marina Beach in Chennai to help differently-abled people, was damaged by strong winds on Saturday as Cyclone Mandous passed through Tamil Nadu.

The ramp was inaugurated on November 27.

Several areas in Chennai saw waterlogging and squally winds uprooting trees in the state capital and the nearby Chengalpattu district.

The rainfall triggered by the cyclone has caused severe waterlogging in low-lying areas. Roads in the MMDA Colony in Arumbakkam here were submerged. A video showed a large tree uprooted in Egmore, causing several damage to a petrol bunk nearby.

The Greater Chennai Traffic Police Saturday in a tweet announced that vehicular movement along the East Coast Road (ECR) resumed at 6am. The stretch had been closed since 10pm last night, due to the cyclone.

A wall collapsed in T Nagar area of Chennai and caused severe damage to three cars that were parked near it as cyclone Mandous raged. 

Cyclone alert messages have been sent through common alert protocol (CAP) to as many as 89 lakh subscribers spread across the six districts which are likely to be affected due to heavy rains during December 8-10, according to official information.