Rain alert in Nilgiris as Cyclone Murasu crosses coast; 11 Chennai flights cancelled

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday forecast heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places over Nilgiris district over the next 24 hours as severe cyclonic storm Murasu made landfall along the south Andhra Pradesh coast.

According to IMD’s Regional Meteorological Centre, Murasu crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast on Tuesday and is expected to move northwestward, weakening into a cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 80–90 kmph by Tuesday afternoon before further degrading into a deep depression by midnight.

It would further weaken into a deep depression by Tuesday midnight, the weather office said.

The Tamil Nadu government has put contingency measures in place to prevent disruption to normal life, with the storm bringing heavy downpours across northern parts of the state and Chennai.

Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in Arakkonam and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) remain deployed across vulnerable parts of Tamil Nadu.

According to IMD, Chennai received 7.6 cm of rain as of Monday, while 21 subways did not face inundation and opened to traffic.

Schools and colleges in Chennai and Tiruvallur districts were closed on Monday due to the weather, and 11 flights from Chennai to various destinations were canceled.

The Greater Chennai Corporation received 237 complaints about water stagnation, 32 about fallen trees, and 133 about streetlights, officials said.