The landfall process of Cyclone Nivar, which expected to cross the coast between Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Wednesday night or early on Thursday, has started. The India Meteorological Department said it is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the next 12 hours. The Tamil Nadu government has declared a holiday on Thursday in view of the cyclone.
More than 1,000 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed to assist local efforts on possible evacuations of residents from vulnerable coastal areas. Nearly 30,000 people have been evacuated from Tamil Nadu and 7,000 people have been evacuated from Puducherry, news agency ANI reported.
The Tamil Nadu government appealed to people living in coastal districts to not venture out of their homes and requested those living in low lying areas to reach the cyclone shelters in their respective regions.
