As Nivar calms down, TN heaves a sigh of relief

City Environment

Situation not as bad as before, say residents

The cyclonic storm Nivar, which is moving northwest, is likely to weaken further into a deep depression, according to the India Metrological Department.

“The storm now lies inside the land area. There will, however, be rainfall and strong winds as well,” Deputy Director General of Meteorology, Chennai, S Balachandran told the mint

According to NDTV, at least three people have died because of the cyclone. The streets of Chennai are flooded and has uprooted hundreds of trees.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in north Tamil Nadu and Chittoor, Kurnool, Prakasam and Cuddappah districts of Andhra Pradesh. A few places in Telangana are also likely to experience heavy rainfall.

“I see that the situation is very much in control when compared to the 2016 situation,” said Ram Kshirsagar, a resident of Chennai.

A resident of Thanjavur, Antony Fernando, said farmers are the worst-affected as this is the season of harvesting. Many farmers weren’t able to register for crop insurance as the deadline was November 24, a day before Nivar made a landfall. “They gave 24 to 48 hours’ notice to the farmers, which is very less, and left almost 40% of them unregistered for the crop insurance.”

Aarthi. N, a resident of Chennai, said a few low-lying areas in Tamil Nadu have been facing problems due to waterlogging. They have no electricity. “Roads are bad as usual, it’s very windy here, and I don’t see anything unusual.”The severity of the damage will not be known until an official statement is released, she added.

Nivetha Sekar, a resident of Tamil Nadu, said she isn’t facing much of a problem. Gusty winds woke her up in the middle of the night. “My kitchen windows were open and everything was falling off, so I had to wake up and shut them at midnight.”

Fernando, Kshirsagar and Nivetha said the situation was far better than the previous years.“It is evident that the government has learned its lessons from past experiences,” Fernando noted. There are two main reasons for the less damage this time: Nature was comparatively kind, and the Cauvery delta districts, which have a bulk of paddy fields, are not affected much, he added.

“I witnessed the cyclones in 2016, 2018 and now. I am glad that this time it’s not violent,” Aarthi said.

Narender Kumar, a research and development engineer said, the government can’t solve all the problems at once. “A branch fell in my street. Streetlights weren’t working causing, difficulty to bicycle riders. My colony members and I fixed them.” He suggested people look after themselves rather than wait for help.

Although people have suffered due to the cyclone, the situation seems to be in control. Thousands of people were shifted to flood relief camps 24 to 48 hours before Nivar made landfall.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted: “We are closely monitoring the situation in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the wake of Cyclone Nivar. Have spoken to CM Shri @EPSTamilNadu and CM Shri @VNarayanasami and assured all possible help from the center. NDRF teams already on ground to help people in need.”

mahitha.o@iijnm.org

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