© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Folks transfer in a ship previous partially submerged automobiles in a residential space following heavy rains forward of Cyclone Michaung in Chennai, India, December 4, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File photograph
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By Jatindra and Rishika Sadam
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) -Cyclone Michaung barrelled into the southern Indian coast on Tuesday with intense winds, its arrival preceded by torrential rains and flooding that killed at the least 13 folks, as officers assessed the harm.
Tall waves crashed into southern coastal cities during the last two days because the cyclone approached, submerging total villages and halting all transportation as greater than 390,000 folks felt its influence, authorities stated.
Michaung made landfall close to the seashore city of Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh state with winds of as much as 70 mph that later dropped barely because the ‘severe’ class cyclone weakened, the Indian climate workplace stated. Additional weakening is forecast within the subsequent six hours.
Timber had been uprooted and at the least 25 villages inundated because the cyclone traversed northwards and authorities evacuated greater than 15,000 folks to security forward of landfall, the Andhra Pradesh authorities stated.
“We have taken all measures and have all the equipment. We have also broadcast precautions to the public yesterday,” Zahid Khan, a Nationwide Catastrophe Response Drive official, advised ANI information company, including the pressure had a number of groups deployed on floor.
The 13 folks killed embrace a 4-year-old boy who died after a wall collapsed, authorities stated. Greater than 140 trains and 40 flights had been cancelled within the state.
As much as eight inches of rain is anticipated within the state over the subsequent 24 hours, the climate workplace stated.
In neighbouring Tamil Nadu state capital Chennai, a serious electronics and manufacturing hub, residents waded by way of waist-deep floodwaters that additionally swept away vehicles.
The floods triggered reminiscences of comparable rains in Chennai eight years in the past which killed 290 folks, as some activists questioned whether or not town’s infrastructure might deal with excessive climate occasions.
On makes an attempt to enhance stormwater drainage programs within the metropolis, Raj Bhagat P, a civil engineer and geo-analytics knowledgeable stated: “Their solutions would have helped a lot in moderate and heavy rainfall, but not in very heavy and extremely heavy rains.”
The Chennai airport – one of many busiest within the nation – was closed on Monday after a runway was submerged and reopened at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the federal civil aviation ministry stated.
Taiwan’s Foxconn and Pegatron had halted Apple (NASDAQ:) iPhone manufacturing at their amenities close to Chennai as a result of rains on Monday, sources advised Reuters. Foxconn resumed operations on Tuesday.
