Chennai grappled with a standstill on Monday, paralyzed by relentless heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours courtesy of Cyclone Michaung in the Bay of Bengal. The city, reminiscent of a comparable event in 2015, experienced unprecedented downpours, resulting in five reported deaths from electrocution and tree incidents.
Major entities, including Foxconn and Pegatron, key manufacturers of Apple iPhones, shuttered operations due to the inclement weather. Transportation services were severely disrupted, prompting citizens to share alarming flood videos on social media.
Chennai airport’s airfield remained closed throughout the day due to flooding, with suspension of arrival and departure operations until 9 am on Tuesday. Railway services from Chennai Central were halted as water levels neared the danger mark at Bridge No 167 near Sullurpeta station.
Power outages plagued several parts of the city since Sunday night. Union Home Minister Amit Shah conferred with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Puducherry CM N Rangaswamy, assuring central assistance to tackle the challenging weather conditions posed by Cyclone Michaung. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was deployed, with additional teams prepared for further assistance.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported Cyclone Michaung’s location at 100 km east-northeast of Chennai, moving northwards at 10 kmph. Expected to make landfall as a severe cyclonic storm between Nellore and Machilipatnam on the south Andhra Pradesh coast near Bapatla on December 5.