Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 5: Cyclonic storm Michaung crossed the land near Baptala between Nellore and Machalipatnam in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 90-100 kph and gusts up to 110 kph bringing with it heavy rainfall in the coastal region before weakening further as it passed over land.
Cyclone warning officials said there could be a storm surge and more heavy showers in the next 24 hours before the storm weakens.
Even though in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu the intensity of rainfall was reduced, at least 17 people lost their lives in various rain-related incidents in and around Chennai while personnel on fishing boats and farm tractors were engaged in rescuing stranded people. The city and adjoining districts faced relentless rains on Monday as the severe cyclonic storm Michaung loomed over the north coastal areas of Tamil Nadu.
Eleven others, who sustained injuries in rain-related incidents, were receiving treatment in various hospitals, officials said. Several District Disaster Response Teams (DDRT) were formed to carry out relief work in all rain-affected areas across the city.
Union Home Minister spoke to Puducherry CM N. Rangasamy and T.N. CM M.K. Stalin to take stock of the situation as Cyclone Michaung unleashed heavy rains and strong winds over several regions. While T.N. has declared a public holiday in four districts, eight districts of Andhra Pradesh are also on an alert.
Chennai airport resumed flight operations on Tuesday morning, but cancellations continued. Though the terminals were opened by 9 a.m., operations began only by 11 a.m. Officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said 136 domestic and international flights were cancelled on Tuesday, and they would operate around 260 flights.
While many residents in the rain affected parts of the city were grappling with poor mobile network connectivity and power cuts, the State government has said their main focus was to bring back normalcy and that 80% of power supply and 70% of mobile networks have already been restored. Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena told reporters in Chennai that there were 42,747 cell phone towers in the city of which 70% were currently operational. The rest of the 30% was not operational due to lack of power, he said.
A total of 29 NDRF teams have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Puducherry to undertake relief and rescue operations in the wake of the severe cyclonic storm Michaung, a senior officer said. Fourteen National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed in Tamil Nadu (five in Chennai), 11 in Andhra Pradesh, one in Telangana and three in Puducherry.
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan was among those rescued by Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services in a boat in Karapakkam, a day after the cyclonic depression Michaung devastated Chennai and the Tamil Nadu government deployed disaster management personnel to rescue people from flood-hit areas. Notably, Aamir has been residing in Chennai since October. The actor reportedly relocated base to be with his ailing mother, Zeenat Hussain, who is undergoing treatment in a private medical facility in the city. He along with Tamil actor Vishnu Vishal and national badminton player Jwala Gutta, was rescued from their flood-hit residence in Karapakkam, Chennai, on Tuesday.
All flights of IndiGo from Vizag to various destinations were cancelled on Tuesday due to cyclone Michaung. IndiGo operates around 20 flights, a day, from Vizag to Hyderabad, Tirupati, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Vijayawada and a few other destinations.
The Telangana government on Tuesday directed the Collectors of districts where heavy rain is forecast due to severe cyclonic storm Michaung to be on alert and send a team of NDRF each to two districts. State Disaster Management department Secretary Rahul Bojja held a tele-conference with the Collectors of the districts which are expected to receive heavy rain. He asked them to be alert in view of the forecast of heavy rains on December 5 and 6 and to take measures as per the stipulated protocols, an official release said. – PTI
During a press conference at the Chennai Corporation headquarters on Tuesday morning, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister stated that relief measures were being undertaken on a war footing. Stalin mentioned that across the nine affected districts, including Chennai, a total of 61,666 relief camps were established. Approximately 11 lakh food packets and one lakh milk packets have been distributed so far, he said.
The Chennai Corporation has brought in 5000 workers from other districts for flood mitigation works in the city. These workers utilised farm tractors and fishing boats in flooded areas such as Periamet and other parts of north Chennai for rescue operations and distributing relief materials. Residents in areas like suburban Tambaram, Ashok Nagar, Kattupakkam, and Perungudi complained about the lack of power restoration despite the rain ceasing for several hours.