Rain is pounding Chennai amid Cylone Michaung warning and daily life has come to a standstill. According to the India Meteorological Department, cyclonic storm Michaung has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm at 8:30 am on Monday. The cyclone swirling over the Bay of Bengal is heading towards the Andhra coast, has led to torrential rain upon Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The cyclone is likely to intensify and move almost parallel and close to south Andhra Pradesh coast and cross South Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam, close to Bapatla during forenoon of December 5 as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph.
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The cyclone has caused severe flooding in Chennai, as most part of the city is submerged in water. Chennai and its neighbouring districts received heavy rainfall overnight, with Meenambakkam recording 196 mm and Nungambakkam receiving 154.3 mm in the 24 hours leading up to 5:30 am this morning.
Keeping the situation in view, Tamil Nadu government has declared a public holiday on Monday. However, all essential services, like police, fire service, local bodies, milk supply, water supply, hospitals and more are functioning as usual.
IMD had issued a red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy rainfall expected over coastal Andhra and Yanam, Rayalaseema and Tamil Nadu on December 3 and 4.
Michaung, meaning strength or resilience, emerged from a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal. It is the fourth tropical cyclone of the year over the Bay of Bengal.
A tropical cyclone is one that develops in the regions between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. One of the most devastating storms on Earth, these cyclones develop when “thunderstorm activity starts building close to the centre of circulation, and the strongest winds and rain are no longer in a band far from the centre.
According to Britannica, these intense circular storm originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterised by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain. It draws energy from the sea surface and maintains its strength as long as it remains over the warm water.
Tropical cyclone is known by different names in different places. For instance, it is known as hurricane in the North Atlantic Ocean and the eastern North Pacific, and typhoons in the western North Pacific around the Philippines, Japan, and China.