Two dead in southern India, roads, runway submerged as Cyclone Michaung nears
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Commuters passing through a flooded road during heavy rains as Cyclone Michaung approaches the eastern Indian coast in Chennai on Dec 4.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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CHENNAI - At least two people died and the runway of one of India’s busiest airports lay submerged due to torrential rain, as two southern states braced on Dec 4 for a severe cyclone likely to hit in the next 24 hours.
Cyclone Michaung is expected to land on the coast of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on Dec 5, the country’s weather office said, with sustained winds of 90kmh to 100kmh, gusting to 110kmh.
Two people were killed when a wall collapsed because of heavy rain in the Chengalpattu district of neighbouring Tamil Nadu state, joint director of the state disaster management department, Mr C Muthukumaran, said.
In Tamil Nadu capital Chennai, the state’s largest city and a major electronics and manufacturing hub, cars were swept away as floodwater flowed through the streets, while its airport, one of the busiest in India, shut down operations for the day citing severe weather.
Media showed pictures of grounded planes with their wheels submerged in water as the rain pelted down.
Taiwan’s Foxconn and Pegatron halted Apple iPhone production at their facilities near Chennai due to heavy rains, sources familiar with the matter said.
Several areas of the city were submerged in knee-deep water and there have been power outages since Dec 4, a witness said, evoking memories of December 2015 when around 290 people died after catastrophic floods.
Authorities in both states were on high alert, evacuating thousands of people living in coastal areas, officials in both states said, with warnings issued to fishermen not to venture out to sea.
The industries department in Tamil Nadu, a manufacturing hub and host to major electronics and automobile manufacturers, including Hyundai and Apple supplier Foxconn, said only “essential supply companies” would function for now.
Schools, colleges, offices and banks were closed on Dec 4 and Dec 5 in at least four districts of Tamil Nadu because of weather conditions, a government notice said.
Parts of Andhra Pradesh were likely to get more than 200mm of rain over the next 24 hours, India’s weather office said.
In Andhra Pradesh, the authorities had evacuated nearly 7,000 people in eight coastal districts and were preparing to evacuate a total of 28,000, depending on the cyclone’s path and severity, a senior official in the state’s disaster management department said.
In Tamil Nadu, the authorities declared a public holiday in four coastal districts and asked people not to venture out unless necessary.
At least 800 people have been evacuated so far from Bapatla, the coastal town in Andhra Pradesh where the cyclone is expected to make landfall on Dec 5, Mr P Ranjit Basha, district collector of Bapatla, said. REUTERS
