Delhi,
Northern coastal Tamil Nadu witnessed light to moderate rainfall and some places heavy showers as the cyclonic storm ‘Mandous’ continued to move further closer to the State’s coastline, and it is set to cross the coast near starting midnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. A holiday has been declared for schools and colleges in Chennai, and other districts including Vellore, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Ranipet, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, and Kancheepuram on Saturday due to the heavy rain forecast.
#WATCH | Waterlogging in Pattinapakkam area of Chennai as rain continues in the city under the influence of cyclone Mandous pic.twitter.com/Vc17uYbwT7
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2022
As many as 16,000 police personnel and 1,500 Home guards have been deployed for security, relief and rescue tasks, and a 40-member team of TN State Disaster Response Force, in addition to 12 District Disaster Response Force teams, are on standby, police said here. Due to the heavy rain forecast, the Greater Chennai Police asked the public not to venture outside unless absolutely necessary. Starting from 6 PM today, till midnight the departure of at least five flights from here have been cancelled, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) in Chennai announced. Trains including suburban services were operated and there was some disruption in bus services in view of water logging in a string of areas. Schools and colleges were closed in several districts.
#WATCH | Heavy rains with strong winds in Pattinapakkam area of Chennai as landfall process of cyclone #Mandous begins. pic.twitter.com/tVFN7nbPYH
— ANI (@ANI) December 9, 2022
A recently built wooden ramp for the disabled at Chennai’s Marina beach was also damaged by intense waves. The 263-metre-long, 3-metre-wide ramp was constructed with a mix of several categories of wood, including Brazilian wood, at a cost of Rs 1.14 crore, according to officials. Mandous, pronounced ‘man-dous’ is an Arabic word and it means treasure box and the name was reportedly picked by the United Arab Emirates.
