PUDUCHERRY, (India): A powerful cyclonic storm hurtled into India's southern coast early Thursday, uprooting trees and packing strong winds and rains as tens of thousands of people took refuge in shelters. The centre of Nivar made landfall at 3:05 am local time between Karaikal in Puducherry territory and Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu state with winds of up to 130 kilometres (81 miles) per hour.
Thousands of state and national emergency personnel were deployed in the southern regions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry as authorities suspended power supply across several cities to prevent damage to the electricity grid. One woman in Tamil Nadu died after a boundary wall collapsed following heavy rains late Wednesday, local media reported. Initially classified as a very severe cyclonic storm as it swirled in the north Indian Ocean's Bay of Bengal, Nivar weakened after landfall into a severe cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department said.
Wind gusts uprooted trees and toppled electricity pylons while downpours lashed parts of the region, causing flash floods, with Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu recording nearly 244 millimetres (9.6 inches) of rain since Wednesday morning. The Tamil Nadu government issued a severe weather warning for further thunderstorms over the coming hours.
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