Cyclone Makes Landfall; 17 People Die In Chennai

Cyclone Michaung swept inland on Tuesday, striking the Andhra Pradesh coast, bringing with it torrential rainfall, howling winds, and leaving behind a trail of destruction across the south-eastern Indian coast and leading to the deaths of at least 18 people over the past two days.

- Suresh Dharur and Divya Chandrababu

Michaung made landfall as a severe cyclonic storm near Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday afternoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, adding that it was moving northwards at a speed of 11kmph.

Winds gusting at 110kmph tore through coastal villages and cities in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu through much of Tuesday, uprooting trees, snapping power and phone lines, and causing widespread damage to standing crops. By the evening, the system had weakened into a cyclonic storm, and it had further reduced to a deep depression by late Tuesday night, meaning wind speeds were in the 55-85kph range.

A day earlier, as Michaung barrelled towards the Indian coast, it brought extensive rain and submerged much of Chennai, damaging infrastructure and leaving at least 17 people dead on Monday and Tuesday.

On Tuesday, however, bulk of the cyclone’s onslaught was centered in Andhra Pradesh, with several districts in the state receiving extremely heavy rainfall through the day. IMD officials warned of heavy rains across the coastal and Rayalaseema regions through much of Wednesday as well.

Other nearby states such as Telangana, Odisha and Chhattisgarh also saw light to moderate rainfall through Monday and Tuesday, according to the IMD cyclone bulletin.

In Andhra Pradesh, officials said that around 9,500 people were shifted to 211 relief camps set up at schools and government office buildings in coastal districts.