CHENNAI: For the first time in last two decades, Chennai could be in the eye of a cyclone as the ‘Vardah’ is expected to make landfall close to the city on Monday afternoon. Things to expect for today are: windspeed up to 100 kmph, rainfall around 20 cm and sea waves rising to at least a metre. The State government has asked the residents of Chennai and its two neighbouring districts - Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur - to stock up food and stay indoors until a further advisory is issued.
Besides declaring a holiday for all educational institutions, the labour department has even asked private companies to allow employees to take leave on Monday or let them work from home. Till Sunday night, the meteorological officials said the exact location of the landfall could not be declared. But the forecast track of the cyclone released by the department suggests it would land at least within a few kilometres on either side of Chennai.
Speaking to Express, S Balachandran, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, said, “There will be strong winds from Sunday evening, and will peak at 80-90 kmph when the cyclone crosses the coast. Fishermen have been warned not to venture into sea off the South Andhra and North Tamil Nadu coast.” Vardah is expected to gradually weaken after it makes landfall.
Independent weather observers believe Vardah carries a very significant threat. Pradeep John, who runs the popular TN Weatherman blog, suggested that the cyclone will be the most severe to hit Chennai in the last 22 years. In a blog post he said, “The city will witness winds raging at 100 kmph when cyclone vardah makes landfall. The last time the winds exceeded this mark was in 1994,” and added that another cyclone to have made a landfall close to Chennai was Nilam in 2012 near Mahabalipuram.
Chennai has so far received only 149 mm of rainfall this Northeast monsoon, against the normal 790 mm. The rains from the cyclone may help save Chennai a little from the impending water crisis. Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Sunday chaired a meeting of the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Agency (TNSDMA) to overlook the preparedness of the State machinery. To meet any eventuality, squads of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed ay Chennai, Tiruvallur and Mahabalipuram. The Eastern Naval Command is also making arrangements for relief work.