CHENNAI: A coastal road in north Chennai was closed and four coastal districts and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) were put on heightened alert after high waves caused by Cyclone Arnab began breaking over roads on Tuesday.
The measures announced late on Tuesday by the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), follow warnings from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) of rough seas and high waves along the Tamil Nadu coast.
Additional chief secretary and commissioner of revenue administration and disaster management B Chandramohan said precautionary measures were being taken along the state’s coast, including Mahabalipuram, Villupuram and Cuddalore. Field officials were closely monitoring the situation.
In North Chennai, rapidly advancing waves overtopped the shoreline rock embankment and spilled onto Ennore Expressway on Tuesday, forcing the police to divert traffic as rough seas battered the coast ahead of Cyclone Arnab’s expected landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast between 2 am and 4 am on Wednesday.
The affected stretch, where dozens of vehicles were knocked over, has been closed to traffic and is being monitored by GCC officials and revenue department personnel. Seawater also entered parts of Thalankuppam, but receded before reaching nearby houses, sources said.
The impact was felt across several coastal settlements, including Bharathiyar Nagar, Burma Nagar, Nettukuppam, Thalankuppam, Indira Gandhi Kuppam, Periyakuppam and Chinnakuppam, sources said.
Residents of all coastal habitations had been moved to safety, and officials were maintaining a close watch. Monitoring would continue until the cyclone weakened, Chandramohan said.
RL Srinivasan, a fisherman from Kattukuppam in Ennore, said, “While the sea would usually turn turbulent twice a month, the waves are not normally this high.
With Cyclone Arnab approaching, the impact is evident along the coast. This was not the case years ago. The waves won’t reach the roadways most times. But, coastal erosion has brought the sea closer to the road, allowing large waves to spill onto the expressway and disrupt traffic,” he said.
Kanchana, a resident of Bharathiyar Nagar, said the waves had disrupted traffic, with buses and other vehicles being diverted. Water had also entered a few shops along the expressway. “If the waves continue to hit the road throughout the night, we are afraid seawater might enter the village,” she said.
Police have diverted vehicles along two routes. Those travelling from Ramakrishna Nagar to Annai Sivagami Nagar are being directed via Ernavur Bridge, Murugar Kovil Road and Kathivakkam Beach. Vehicles from Thazhakuppam and Ennore are being diverted via Kathivakkam Bridge and Murugar Kovil Road, officials said.
Monitoring is being run through district emergency operations centres and control rooms, the GCC’s control room and the SEOC, which is following up field-level reports to coordinate responses. The government urged people to stay away from the sea and the waterline, and not to gather on coastal roads to watch or photograph the waves.
