The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has asked people not to venture near the beaches of Chennai and has closed all the corporation parks citing heavy rainfall due to cyclone Mandous. In a statement issued on December 8, GCC announced that parks and playgrounds across Chennai will be closed till the next announcement. Corporation officials have also issued directions to remove all banners installed in the city after checking the sturdiness to avoid collapses, as the Mandous cyclone is likely to bring strong wind during landfall. GCC has set up 805 motors to pump water out in low-lying areas and 169 camps have been set up across the city. To remove the tree logs, 45 JCB trucks and 115 tipper lorries have been arranged along with hydraulic and electric saws.
Cyclone Mandous, which is presently over southwest Bay of Bengal, moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 13 kms per hour during the past six hours. According to Chennai’s Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), the severe cyclonic storm lay centred about 270 km north-northeast of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), 230 km east-northeast of Jaffna (Sri Lanka), 200 km east of Karaikal, and about 270 km of south-southeast of Chennai.
The statement released at 9.30 am on December 9, stated that the Mandous is likely to weaken into a cyclonic storm in the following three hours. It is likely to move nearly northwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts between Puducherry and Sriharikota around Mahabalipuram. The maximum speed of wind during landfall is expected to be between 65 and 75 kmph and increasing to 85 kmph during the midnight of December 9 and early hours of December 10.
To register complaints and to get help, people can reach officials through helpline numbers 1913, 044-2561 9206. 044-2561 9207 and 044-2561 9208. People can also send WhatsApp messages to 9445477205 to get help.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur in a few places over Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Villupuram districts. Very heavy rain is likely to occur at the isolated places over Chennai, Tiruvallur, Ranipet, Vellore, Tirupathur, Thiruvannamalai, Kallakurichii and Cuddalore. Yellow alerts have been issued at many delta districts as well as districts in the western part of the state. The districts are Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal, Karur, Tiruchirapalli, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Mayiladurai, Karaikal, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Sivaganga, Madurai, and Dindigul.
The Tamil Nadu government has deployed 12 teams – comprising nearly 400 personnel from both national and state Disaster Response Force – in 10 districts including Nagapattinam and Thanjavur in the Cauvery delta region, Chennai, its three neighbouring districts and Cuddalore. A holiday has been declared for schools and colleges in 26 districts of Tamil Nadu on Friday. Seven flights were cancelled from Chennai airport due to bad weather.
The IMD on Friday, December 9, said that Bengaluru will receive light to moderate rain from December 9 to December 13 due to the impact of the cyclone over southwest Bay of Bengal. A yellow warning (isolated heavy rains) has also been issued in several parts of the state including Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagara, Kodagu, Hassan, and Shivamogga districts till December 13.