VSCS Nivar crosses coast near Pondy as SCS, to weaken further

Chennai:The Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS)'Nivar' crossed the coast near Puducherry as a Severe CyclonicStorm (SCS) early on Thursday morning.

The landfall process marked by gusty winds that touched morethan 120 kmph began around midnight and ended around 0300 hrs today morning, Met office said.

In its update, the met office said the SCS over Southwest Bay of Bengal moved nearly northwestwards with a speed of 11 kmph during the past six hours and lay centred over north coastal Tamilnadu about 50 km north-northwest of Puducherry.

It would continue to move northwestwards and weaken further into a cyclonic storm during the next three hours. Even after making a landfall, it still maintains a wind speed of 85 to 95 kmph as it moved in to the interior areas.

Parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, including Chennai, received persistent rains and strong winds, leading to water logging and uprooting of trees. The Tamil Nadu Government has declared a public holiday for the day in 16 districts of the State under the Negotiable

Instruments Act as a special case.Though rains abated in Chennai and suburbs from midnight, but for a couple of heavy spells in between, the weather remained nippy and gloomy, with strong and blustery winds blowing.

The cyclone has left several suburban areas of Velacherry and Mudichur were completely marooned and resembled an island, reminiscent of the December 2015 floods.

The SDRF and NDRF personnel used fibre boats to rescue people from these areas as hip-deep water engulfed the households. People in several shifted to the top floors in their apartments as rain waters entered their premises.

The strongly winds uprootted trees and tree branches in more than 250 places in Chennai city and suburbs and the civic authorities have cleared a majority of them by acting swiftly.

Nivar cyclone played havoc in Pondy

Puducherry:The severe cyclonic storm 'Nivar' which crossed  at Marakkanam in Villupuram district of Tamilnadu last night played havoc in Puducherry with several trees uprooted and streets flooded.

Tree falling an uprooting were reported from several parts of Puducherry and all the low lying areas like,Ezhil nagar,Venkata Nagar,Balaji Nagar among others were flooded.Water intruded into some houses also and people could not come out of their homes because of the waterlogged  streets.

According to sources,due to the rough sea,the water in the Uppannar drainage could not be discharged in the sea and drainage is stagnated resulting flood in residential areas.

Lt.Governor Kiran Bedi in a Whats app post said that seven incidents of tree falling were reported from the Grand Bazaar police liit alone and were attended while,an old lady and a child were rescued  from an inundated house at Rainbow Nagar here.

Power supply in  several areas of Puducherry were disconnected when the landfall started and are yet to restore it. Proper precautionary measures taken prevented any loss of life here in the cyclone.All cyclone warning signals were removed from the Puducherry port.

The Puducherry administration had already declared today a public holiday to be compensated  on December 19.Meanwhile,chief minister V Narayanasamy began a visit in the town to assess the damaged this morning.

Nivar Cyclone : Miraculous escape for 4 of family as wall of their house caves in due to rain

Puducherry:Four persons belonging to a  family had a miraculous escape when the wall of their house collapsed after it soaked due to rain  under the impact of the Nivar cyclone, in the early hours of Thursday.

According to police, Murugan, a  daily worker, his wife and two children  were in the house at Komarapalayam in Mannadipet Commune panchayat, near here.

They were asleep when the wall of their house caved in.The family had a close shave as the debris of the wall which collapsed fell outside, police added.(UNI)