Cyclone Michaung to make landfall near Andhra’s Bapatla at noon, 8 dead in Chennai

-

Cyclone Michaung, which is hovering over the Bay of Bengal, is due to make landfall near Bapatla on the Andhra Pradesh coast at about noon, according to the IMD. The incoming tropical storm caused rain mayhem in Chennai over the weekend, in which at least eight people have died.

A storm surge, or tidal wave, of 1-1.5 metres is expected to inundate the low-lying areas of south coastal Andhra Pradesh and the peak storm surge will be over the Bapatla and Krishna districts.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 km per hour, gusting to 110 km per hour.

The Andhra Pradesh government has issued an alert for eight districts — Tirupati, Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla, Krishna, West Godavari, Konaseema and Kakinada. In Puducherry, Section 144 has been imposed in the coastal areas, restricting movement there, until 6 pm.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the officials to treat the storm as a major challenge to avoid loss of life and property as the winds are expected to blow gales reaching speeds of up to 110 kilometres per hour.

Reddy said that special officers have been appointed for all cyclone-affected districts, besides releasing Rs 2 crore each for rescue and relief work. People from low-lying areas have been evacuated and over 300 relief camps have been set up to accommodate them.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry on Monday and assured them of all necessary help from the Centre. The minister said adequate deployment of National Disaster Response Force personnel has already been made and additional teams are ready for further assistance.

Director General of the India Meteorological Department, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra warned that cities and towns along coastal Andhra Pradesh will see extremely heavy, and even exceptionally heavy (30-40 cm), rainfall.

A severe cyclonic storm has the potential to cause uprooting of small and medium trees, large-scale damage to hutments and mud houses, and partial damage to telephone and electric poles.

The weather office said that Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are expected to experience light to moderate rainfall in most places on Tuesday. Rain has stopped in Chennai, but most parts of the city remains submerged, with heavy inundation in low-lying areas.

The Chennai airport will remain closed till 9 am today. Schools, colleges, and government offices remain shut and the government has appealed to private companies to let employees work from home. Videos shows flights grounded as rainwater entered the airport runway, prompting authorities to order its closure till 11 pm tonight.

The Odisha government has also deployed rescue teams in the southern districts as a precautionary measure. All the coastal and southern district collectors have been out on alert and fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea.



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/mSja3Vv
Sohini Sarkar

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

120 flights delayed, 30 trains running late; Delhi fog & cold wave continue to give shiver to travellers

-
Arrival and departure of 120 flights, both domestic and international, to Delhi airport were affected due to dense fog and cold wave conditions on Wednesday, according to Delhi Airport FIDS (Flight Information Display System). As per the Delhi Airport FIDS, a total of 53 flights, including 21 domestic arrivals, 16 domestic departures, 13 international departures and three international arrivals scheduled are cancelled and not operating due to fog and other operational reasons from and to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the national capital on 17 January. #WATCH | Delhi: Several flight operations delayed at IGI airport due to low visibility amid fog. pic.twitter.com/hG1DUKllEt — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2024 Visuals from the Delhi airport showed passengers waiting outside, checking update of their scheduled flights. There were also some people waiting for flight of their families, friends and loved ones to arrive, which got delayed due to fog. #WATCH | Delhi | Pas
Read more