As heavy rains continue in Chennai and other coastal areas of northern Tamil Nadu, severely disrupting normalcy in many areas, the IMD has said that affected persons can expect some relief after midnight. In an update shared at 6 pm, Deputy Director General of Meteorology (DDG) at IMD’s Chennai Regional Meteorological Centre S Balachandran said that rainfall and strong winds are expected to reduce after six hours. Under the impact of cyclonic storm Michaung, at least five people have died in Chennai so far, according to the police.
The IMD official said that based on radar data from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, wind directions have changed at the upper, mid and lower levels of the atmosphere. Along with data from satellite and ground instruments, this suggests that the storm is moving northwards and strong winds and heavy rainfall may reduce after six hours, Balachandran said. He said that the storm was located towards the east-northeast of Chennai, around 100 km away, and was moving at the speed of 10 kmph during the past six hours.
The cyclonic storm is expected to make landfall along the southern coast of Andhra Pradesh, between Nellore and Machilipatnam, near Bapatla, on the morning of December 5, Tuesday, as a severe cyclonic storm.
While Tamil Nadu can expect some relief from the heavy rains and flooding starting from tonight, the cyclonic storm is expected to impact parts of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, where heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in parts of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.
Under the impact of Cyclone Michaung, Chennai has received the highest amount of rainfall since the 2015 floods. According to IMD, Meenambakkam received 415 mm of rainfall from December 3 until 1.30 pm on December 4, while Nungambakkam got 390 mm during the same period.
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