Cyclone Nilam Makes Landfall; Heavy Rain Continues In South India

Cyclone Nilam spared India’s southern city of Chennai, making a landfall 50-km south at Mamallapuram along the Tamil Nadu coast Wednesday evening.

One person drowned and six others went missing when some of the crew members of an oil tanker that ran aground off Elliots Beach in south Chennai hours before the cyclone hit the coast tried to escape, the Indian media reported.

In Villupuram, one person who was caught under a collapsed wall died while another was electrocuted in Thiruvannamalai.

In the Union Territory of Puducherry, a 46-year-old man slipped and drowned in choppy waters while watching the sea from a pier.

High winds uprooted several trees and electric poles in Chennai creating traffic snarls while power outages were reported from several localities. Power supply was cut in most part of the coastal belt as a precautionary measure.

Around 3,500 people have been evacuated from Mamallapuram, which is one of the top tourist destinations in south India.

Meanwhile, five coastal districts in Andhra Pradesh are still on alert.

Heavy rain is expected over south coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema during the next 48 hours.

Meanwhile, Bangalore in Karnataka state witnessed continuous rainfall for the past 36 hours and is likely to continue for two more days.

Other cities in Karnataka including Mysore, Mangalore, Gulbarga and Gadag are also likely to witness light to moderate rainfall over the next two days.