Cyclone Vardah, presently 370 km from Chennai and 820 km from Machilipatnam is traveling at speed of 120 Kmph. The Cyclone Warning division of India Meteorological Department said that Vardah is currently a very severe cyclonic storm. It is expected to go down a few notches and become a severe storm, but will not weaken completely. To help with damage control and rescue mission, over 15 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed to the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Vardah, meaning the flower rose, in Urdu and Arabic is given the name because of its shape. At 9:30 A.M., the cyclone was centered 105 km northeast to Chennai. By the time it reached land in Chennai, its wind speed is expected to be 100 to110 kmph with winds up to 120 kmph. The government has urged people of both the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to remain indoors between 1-4 P.M., to avoid the devastating effects of the storm.
It will reach the peak by today afternoon and will effect Andhra Pradesh cities Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, and Krishna district. They are on high alert and are taking measures to handle the worst situation. National Disaster Management Authority has taken all the necessary steps to deal with the storm.
Chief Minister Chandrababu instructed the citizens of these areas to ration adequate reserves of cash and food. The weather office in the coastal area predicts 12 to 18 mm of rain and winds are expected at 50-60 kmph in A.P. The people of these areas have started shifting to higher grounds as a safety measure.
A Regional Meteorological Centre official said, “Due to the severe storm, there has been continuous rain in Chennai and its suburbs. Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts have also received heavy rainfall since morning.” Chennai has experienced a rainfall of 9.3 mm till Monday morning. This is expected to increase by noon and midnight.”
So stack up the rations and take necessary precautions to live out the storm!
