CHENNAI: Cyclonic storm Mandous made landfall off Mamallapuram near here late on Friday influencing moderate to heavy rainfall in coastal Tamil Nadu.
"The process of cyclonic storm's landfall has started, it is going on," Head-IMD Regional Meterological Centre, S Balachandran told PTI.
Mandous is all set to weaken, following the landfall, to a deep depression and later a depression on Saturday.
Under the influence of the cyclonic storm's passage into land, moderate to heavy rainfall, accompanied by gale wind was witnessed in several coastal regions.
Many stations have crossed 100 mm rainfall from 8.30 am & if we take from yesterday night it is 175 to 200 mm rain in Chennai City. pic.twitter.com/3bhQ7k4kJb
Power supply was suspended in parts of Chennai and neighbouring areas in view of the strong winds. Transport services also remain disrupted. Families residing in low-lying areas were shifted to relief centres.
Several flights were cancelled Friday at Chennai International Airport due to the weather conditions.
In neighbouring Puducherry, 15 houses collapsed in Pillaichavady village as high tides under the impact of the cyclone eroded the coast on Friday.
A holiday has been declared for schools and colleges on Saturday in 15 districts including Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Kallakurichi, Vellore, and Ranipet.
Several weather stations in and around Chennai clocked rainfall of 7 cm each in the morning; it was light to moderate in other regions.
Parts of Rayalaseema and South coastal districts witness heavy to very heavy rainfall
Parts of Rayalaseema and South coastal districts of the state are receiving heavy to very heavy rainfall since the early hours of Saturday. Under its influence, Prakasam, Nellore, Tirupati, Chittoor, Annamaiah and Kadapa districts will witness heavy to very heavy rainfall at few places in these districts on Saturday.
The IMD also predicted that these districts will also experience moderate rainfall on Sunday and also alerted people to be careful even after the landfall of cyclone.
With the high velocity winds on Friday late night, many electric poles were uprooted in Nellore and Tirupati districts.
District administration of Tirupati has shifted 190 people to rehabilitation centres in various mandals.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy reviewed with officials of Rayalaseema Prakasam and Nellore districts on the situation of rainfall in their areas. He asked the district officials to be attentive and extend all possible support for the public during rains.
Mandous, pronounced 'man-dous' is an Arabic word and it means treasure box. The name was reportedly picked by the United Arab Emirates.
16,000 police personnel, 1,500 Home guards, a 40-member team of TN State Disaster Response Force, and 400 National Disaster Response Force personnel, in addition to 12 District Disaster Response Force teams are on standby.
VIEW PHOTOS | 'Mandous' causes havoc in TN, Puducherry
HIGHLIGHTS
1. Landfall: Cyclonic storm Mandous made landfall off Mamallapuram near Chennai at around 1:03 am Saturday influencing moderate to heavy rainfall in coastal Tamil Nadu.
2. 15 houses in Puducherry's Pillaichavadi fishing villages were washed away.
3. Parts of resorts were washed away due to high tides at Thevaneri near Mahabalipuram in Chennai.
4. High alert in Puducherry: In neighbouring Puducherry, a storm warning signal flag Number Five was hoisted at the Puducherry port.
5. List of flights cancelled from Chennai: More than 25 flights were cancelled including ATR aircraft operating from Tuticorin, Cuddapah, Mysuru, Bengaluru, Madurai, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, Calicut, Hubli, Kannur, and Trichirappali.
6. Corporation readies pumps and saws: In order to clear trees or large branches that may fall, 272 saws, 45 earthmovers for each area, 115 tipper lorries, and hydraulic saws were on stand by.
7. Helpline numbers: 1913 (Chennai Corporation), 044-25619206/07/08
8. Control room opened at Prakasam collectorate: Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district administration has established an emergency special control room with toll free number - 1077 and phone number - 08592-241400.
9. TN transport dept to not ply buses on Mahabalipuram and ECR routes: The Transport department says bus services to Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore and Villupuram will run as usual.
Buses around Mahabalipuram and East Coast Road will not be available two hours prior and post the landfall.
10. NDRF teams prepared: 400 National Disaster Response Force personnel have been deployed in 10 districts including Nagapattinam, and Thanjavur in the Cauvery delta region, Chennai, its three neighbouring districts, and Cuddalore.
11. Marina Beach's newly built ramp for disabled damaged: The 263-metre ramp which was inaugurated on November 27, was constructed at a cost of Rs 1.14 crores. It was built for persons with disabilities to easily reach the water without manoeuvring their way through the beach sands.
12. Water released from reservoirs: 100 cusecs of water were released at 100 cubic feet per second from Chembarambakkam and Red Hills reservoirs. The inflow from catchment 732 cusecs at 4 pm on Friday.
13.. Four-day rain forecast for Bengaluru: Due to Cyclone 'Mandous', Bengaluru will receive rain till December 12.
Karnataka coastal regions and north interior regions are likely to receive heavy rainfall with lightning and thunder on December 11 and 12. Chikkamagalur, Kolar, Mysuru and Tumakuru will get rain. South districts of Karnataka and North Karnataka districts of Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Vijayapura and Yadgir will also get rain.
14. Twelve shelter homes have been readied near coastal areas in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district.
15. Sri Lanka shut down schools due to high air pollution levels as Cyclone Mandous passed by its coast, raising strong winds and rain.
16. Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji said TANGEDCO officials are instructed to stop the power supply if the wind speed is high.
TN GOVERNMENT ADVISORY:
| Name of Reservoir | capacity (in TMCft) | Storage (in TMCft) | Inflow (cusecs) |
| Redhills | 3.300 | 2.386 | 140 |
| Cholavaram | 1.081 | 0.539 | 36 |
| Chembarambakkam | 3.645 | 2.695 | 709 |
| Poondi | 3.231 | 2.521 | 595 |
| Veeranam | 1.465 | 0.978 | Nil |
| Kannankottai Thervoy Kandigai | 0.5 | 0.489 | Nil |
Total storage of 6 reservoirs (in TMCft) 13.222 / 9.608
WATCH:
(With inputs from Express News Service, PTI)