Cyclone Nilam hits Tamil Nadu coast with strong winds
Mangalore Today News Network
Chennai, Oct 31 , 2012: Cyclone Nilam crossed the Tamil Nadu coast north of Chennai Wednesday evening between Mamallapuram and Kalpakkam with strong winds battering the area, said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Speaking to media, the official said: "The cyclone started crossing the coast around 4.45 p.m. and it would take around one or two hours to cross the coast."
According to him, the wind speed was currently at 65 kmph and would touch around 100-110 kmph.
Strong winds earlier made the ship Pratibha Cauvery run aground here.Mamallapuram, a seventh century port city located near here, is a popular tourist destination for its sculptures and is classified as a Unesco world heritage site.
On the other hand, neighbouring Kalpakkam is known as nuclear island with a couple of test reactors of India Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research and two units of Madras Atomic Power Station.
India’s own 500 MW fast breeder reactor is also being set up at Kalpakkam at an outlay of Rs.5,677 crore.
According to a state government official, around 3,900 people in Mamallapuram have been lodged in 19 relief camps.
A crew member of a ship grounded near Chennai has died and another six are missing after Cyclone Nilam. Another 15 crew members are stuck on board. A Coast Guard ship with divers has reached the location for search and rescue operations. The Navy may also use an aircraft early in the morning.
Pratibha Cauvery, an oil tanker, ran aground this afternoon because of the gales that preceded the cyclone’s landfall. There were 37 people on board. Some of them climbed into a life boat and headed towards the shore but the boat capsized in choppy waters off the Besant Nagar locality in South Chennai.
Pratibha Cauvery, along with other ships berthed at the Chennai Port, was yesterday asked to go to the Outer Anchorage (OA) of the port as a precautionary measure before the severe cyclonic storm arrived.The tanker, anchored about 3.56 nautical miles away from the Port yesterday, drifted and touched the shore near Elliots Beach.
The 26,000-tonne capacity tanker had two tonnes of light diesel and furnace oil when the mishap occurred.
The cyclone crossed Chennai and made landfall at Mahabalipuram, south of the Tamil Nadu capital at about 4.30 pm today, officials said. Rain lashed the region and strong winds uprooted trees in some places. Weather officials said the storm packed winds of up to 100 kilometres (60 miles) per hour as it made landfall near Chennai. Schools and colleges in Chennai have been closed since yesterday and will remain closed tomorrow.
No loss of life or extensive damage has been reported yet. Before landfall, nearly 4000 people had been evacuated and moved to relief centres around Mahabaliburam.