Cyclone Mandous likely to make landfall between Puducherry and Sriharikota around midnight of 9 December: IMD

Cyclone Mandous (pronounced as Man-Dous) is named by the United Arab Emirates and translates to “treasure box” in Arabic.

It is the North East Monsoon’s first cyclone this year. Accordingly, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh are on high alert and bracing for the storm.

CS Mandous over SW BoB about 460km ESE of Karaikal. To move WNW and cross north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south AP coast bw Puducherry and Sriharikota with a wind speed of 70 kmph around midnight of 09 Dec pic.twitter.com/98VsubYFfJ

— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) December 8, 2022

Situation in Tamil Nadu

As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, the regional meteorological centre has predicted heavy rains in parts of Tamil Nadu and Karaikal on 8-10 December due to the impact of the weather system.

On 8 December, the Delta districts and Cuddalore are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall.

Districts like Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Perambalur, Trichy, Sivagangai, and Ramanathapuram will see heavy rains.

On Friday, one or two places in Kancheepuram, Chengalpet, Villupuram and Puducherry will receive extremely heavy falls and districts such as Chennai, Thiruvallur, Ranipet, Vellore, Thiruppathur, Thiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi and Cuddalore will get heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places.

Fishermen in Tamil Nadu have been advised not to venture into sea till 10 December due to the prevailing weather conditions. Fishermen in the mid-sea were also asked to return to the shore. The state government said that alerts have been issued to people living in the coastal areas as well.

pic.twitter.com/DSi6xMlYgq

— TN SDMA (@tnsdma) December 6, 2022

As of Wednesday evening, around 5,000 relief centres have been kept ready across vulnerable districts, and 12 teams of the National Disaster Response Force and Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force have been deployed across Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Villupuram districts.

Apart from the emergency control centre, district-level emergency operation centres would also be functional round the clock to monitor the situation.

Personnel in departments like fire and rescue services, electricity etc have been asked to be on standby and necessary instructions have been given to other concerned departments.

At the time of writing, a holiday had been declared for schools and colleges in the Vellore and Thiruvallur districts for 9 November in view of the cyclone alert and rainfall warning.

More districts were expected to announce holidays for educational institutions later in the day.

The Chennai municipal corporation has kept 805 motor pumps ready to drain out water from low-lying areas and 169 relief centres have also been readied to accommodate people affected by the cyclone.

The corporation has also advised the general public to avoid going to the beaches in Marina, Besant Nagar etc due to the warning of the cyclonic storm.

Puducherry prepares

As for Puducherry, Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Thursday held a meeting with top officials in the government to take stock of the situation and review the preparatory measures.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the Chief Minister said: “Necessary instructions have been given to the concerned departments to deal with the impact of the cyclone. Officials have been told to help the people requiring assistance.”

As a preventive measure, the Puducherry district magistrate has issued orders prohibiting the erection of banners or hoardings, flex boards, advertisement poles, etc on the roadside and has also instructed officials to remove any such unauthorised banners and hoardings as it may inflict injury and cause danger.

Jagan alerts Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management Authority said on social media that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had ordered the collectors of various districts to be vigilant in view of the storm.

“Adequate precautions should be taken by reviewing the impact of the storm from time to time,” the chief minister has apparently said.

In a meeting with CMO officials, Jagan reportedly reviewed the situation surrounding the cyclone and its impact.

Due to the cyclone, there is a forecast of rain in Nellore, Tirupati, Chittoor, and other districts.

తుపానుపై అప్రమత్తతంగా ఉండండి – కలెక్టర్లుకు సీఎం ఆదేశాలు

బంగాళాఖాతంలో తుపాను దృష్ట్యా అప్రమత్తంగా ఉండాలని వివిధ జిల్లాల కలెక్టర్లను సీఎం ఆదేశించారు. తుపాను ప్రభావంపై ఎప్పటికప్పుడు సమీక్ష చేసుకుంటూ తగిన ముందస్తు జాగ్రత్తలు తీసుకోవాలన్నారు. pic.twitter.com/kcPqLKP7r3

— Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (@APSDMA) December 8, 2022

According to the regional IMD office, there is a forecast of likely heavy rain at isolated places in both southern Andhra Pradesh and the Rayalaseema regions on Thursday.

Gale winds with a speed of 50-60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph are expected at isolated places the same day.

After Mandous makes landfall, the IMD forecast points to heavy to very heavy or even extremely heavy rain likely at isolated places on Friday.

Gale winds with a speed of 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph at isolated places are also expected that day.

The IMD has also predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning at isolated places across the region.