Heavy rain and gusty winds in Chennai as Mandous makes landfall

Personnel of NDRF and SDRF on high alert; rain picks up intensity after 5.30 p.m. in the Tamil Nadu coastal belt; Over 15 flights to several cities cancelled at Chennai airport

Outer spiral bands of Cyclone Mandous reached the coast and the landfall process started at 10 p.m., bringing more intense rains in coastal areas.

The centre of cyclone remained in the ocean at 10.30 p.m. and it would take another two or three hours for the entire cyclone to cross the coast.

The cyclone moved at a speed of 14 kmph. Squally winds gusting up to 85 kmph may blow along Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and southern A.P. coast till Saturday morning and decrease gradually. Places like Chennai, Tiruvallur, Ranipet started experiencing strong surface winds of 50 to 60 kmph around 9 p.m. on Friday, said S. Balachandran, Additional Director-General of Meteorology, Chennai.

Kattupakkam and Kalavai in Kancheepuram and Chennai recorded heavy rains of 10 cm between 8.30 am and 10.30 p.m. on Friday. The weather stations and rain gauges in and around Chennai too recorded heavy rains. Meenambakkam saw 7.7 cm and Madhavaram 7.8 cm. Reservoirs in Red Hills, Cholavaram and Chembarambakkam had recorded 10 cm and 7 cm respectively at 10 p.m.

Over 470 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were deputed to Chengalpattu, Chennai, Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvallur, Tiruvarur and Villupuram districts, with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin personally taking stock of the preparedness by the administration to meet any eventuality. A few hours before the landfall, Mr. Stalin visited the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) at Ezhilagam complex in Chennai and reviewed the precautionary measures.

The State Transport Corporation decided to suspend bus operations for more than four hours on the East Coast Road and Mamallapuram during the landfall.

In the past 121 years (1891-2021), 12 cyclones have crossed the coast between Chennai and Puducherry. Cyclone Mandous was the 13 th to make landfall in the region.