The Severe Cyclonic Storm Michaung has been moving moreover northward. The storm is likely to recurve later and therefore may slow down a bit. Accordingly, the landfall is expected to be delayed and instead of the morning hours, it may happen late afternoon tomorrow or during the early evening hours.
It is lying now about 130 km Northeast of Chennai. The city of Chennai has already recorded over 200 mm yesterday and around 150 mm more in nine hours between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm. With this, Chennai Airport remained closed until 11:30 pm and the closure is further extended till 9 am tomorrow.
Tomorrow, the Cyclone is expected to make landfall near Bapatla in Coastal Andhra Pradesh. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected to be seen over Nellore, Ongole, Kavali, Bapatla, and Machilipatnam during that time. Along with heavy rains, all kinds of disruption including rail, road, and air traffic are quite likely in Chennai today and the aforementioned parts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh tomorrow.
Authorities have been alerted and educational institutions have been declared closed tomorrow in some parts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh. Residents have been moved to safer areas and the NDRF teams are bracing themselves for the landfall of Michaung. Heavy rains, strong winds and uprooting of trees, waterlogging, and inundation will be seen tomorrow in parts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh.
