The deep depression in Bay of Bengal, which intensified into a cyclone and tagged itself as Cyclone Neelam, has finally made a landfall at the famous pilgrimage and tourist destination Mahabalipuram, which is close to Chennai. Accompanied by gusty winds, the torrential rains lashed out several places in and around Chennai besides Nellore and other coastal parts of Andhra close to Chennai. In pilgrimage temple, Srikalahasti a highest rainfall of 11 centimeters was recorded. The damage was reportedly nil except that rains caused inconvenience to the people.
The things, however, looked a bit tense in Chennai last night since winds were blowing at a speed of 80 kilometres per hour. Thee casualties were reported due to Nilam. Heavy generators were placed at almost all important places in Chennai to pump out the overflowing water. Notably, Mahabalipuram, where the cyclone landed is often visited by a large number of culture enthusiasts from foreign countries. There has been no news whether any foreign national was stranded in Mahabalipuram.
Nilam creates havoc:
Four persons reportedly dead
Thousands evacuated
paddy crops damaged
Three fishermen went missing
(Video courtesy:news X)
More to follow...
(AW Phani)
