Tamil Nadu braces for Cyclone Nivar, heavy rain alert issued

“It is expected to move northwest and cross Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mamallapuram on November 25,” said the IMD’s bulletin issued at 9.30 am on Monday.

Once strengthened, the cyclone will be named Cyclone Nivar, a name proposed by Iran.

The weather department has also warned of squally winds over Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and north-east Sri Lanka as the system approaches the east coast, in the coming few hours.

The projected path of the system that is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm. (Source: IMD)

Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal remain on ‘red’ alert with the possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall forecast on November 25 whereas an ‘orange’ alert prevails for Rayalaseema, Telangana, south interior Karnataka and coastal Andhra Pradesh where heavy rain is forecast during November 24 – 26.

#NDRF deploys 12 teams in TamilNadu and Puducherry in view of #CycloneNivar. Three teams have been placed on stand-by in Arakkonam. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/G4V4UVy2uR

— Janardhan Koushik (@koushiktweets) November 23, 2020

Fishermen have been warned against venturing into the seas till Wednesday.

It will be the second cyclone formed in the Bay of Bengal in 2020 after Super Cyclone Amphan crossed the West Bengal coast in May.