Cyclone Michaung is predicted to make landfall in a few hours. Police reported on Tuesday that storms have killed at least eight people along India’s southeast coast.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that the cyclone will create a “severe cyclonic storm” later on Tuesday morning, with winds as high as 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour).
“We are facing the worst storm in recent memory,” Tamil Nadu state chief minister M.K. Stalin said, in a statement late Monday.
Eight persons were slain in Chennai, the state capital of Tamil Nadu, according to a statement released by police on Tuesday.
A few of them drowned, one was struck by a falling tree, another was electrocuted by live wires in the water, and a third was crushed by a collapsing wall.
Homes were inundated, cars were observed floating atop raging torrents, and a crocodile was observed swimming through the city’s streets. “Exceptionally heavy rainfall” was the warning issued by IMD in some locations.
The intense rains caused trees to be uprooted and cars to be swept away, as seen in pictures shared on social media.
On the 300-kilometer (185-mile) stretch between Nellore and Machilipatnam, on the southeast coast of India, the town of Bapatla is predicted to be struck by the cyclone.
The government is “prepared to provide all the necessary assistance to Andhra Pradesh,” according to Home Minister Amit Shah, with rescue teams already deployed and more “on standby to mobilize as needed.”
Scientists have alerted us to the fact that storm intensity is increasing due to global warming.
Tens of millions of people live along the coasts of the northern Indian Ocean, where cyclones, which are similar to typhoons in the Northwest Pacific or hurricanes in the North Atlantic, are a frequent and fatal threat.
