Weakened Mandous makes landfall, drenches Chennai

CHENNAI: North Tamil Nadu comprising Chennai, Chengalpattu, Mahabalipuram, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur faced the impact of cyclone Mandous and normal life was affected in several parts of the greater Chennai area.

Gusty winds, followed by intense rainfall and power cuts marked the crossing of the cyclone on Friday night. The weather office reported that landfall begun and it crossed Mamallapuram leaving heavy rain. The cyclone entered Chennai region by midnight with winds gushing around 70 kmph, sources said. The storm brought the entire city and its suburbs to a standstill, and several services were disrupted including transportation, electricity, and telecommunication. Holidays were declared for schools and educational institutions in north TN for the second consecutive day. A total of 27 flights were cancelled.

Traffic movement along ECR connecting Chennai and Mahabalipuram was cut off and the local bodies in Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram sent mobile alerts and tandora warnings to the the public to stay indoors.

Though flooding was not reported in the core city region, heavy rains led to water logging along several interior roads. A few avenue trees, the national flag hoisted at the Secretariat and the ramp for the disabled in Marina were among the damaged assets and no casualty was reported till the time of going to press. Earlier in the day, RMC head Dr S Balachandran told reporters that between Chennai and Puducherry, 12 cyclones have crossed the coast in the past 130 years from 1891 to 2021. “If this cyclone crosses the coast near Mahabalipuram it will be the 13th cyclone to cross the coast (between Chennai and Puducherry),” he said. “Post landfall, the cyclone is likely to weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area after three hours. Heavy to very heavy rain is expected to occur over Thiruvallur, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Vellore, Krishnagiri, and Dharmapuri on Saturday. Chennai, Salem, Villupuram, and Kallakurichi districts are likely to get heavy rain,” Balachandran added.

“Since the cyclone has weakened, we hope there won’t be much damage to the electricity distribution infrastructure. Hope the wind speeds of Cyclone Mandous did not touch the levels of Cyclone Vardah in 2016,” a government official told DT Next. The rains received on Friday night were steady but manageable reducing the incidence of flooding in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur region.

“After 1 am the intensity of wind and rain will reduce and the corporation staff will be on duty round the clock,” GCC commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said. Trees have uprooted in several areas and our staff are attending to it, he said.