Cyclone Nivar to make landfall after 2 am on Thursday, over 1 lakh people evacuated across TN: NDRF chief

Cyclone Nivar, heading towards Tamil Nadu coast, will make landfall after 2 am on Thursday, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) director-general SN Pradhan said on Wednesday.

He also said that over one lakh people have been evacuated in Tamil Nadu.

“Cyclone Nivar may make landfall after 2 am on November 26. Over one lakh people have been evacuated across Tamil Nadu and more than 1,000 people have been evacuated in Puducherry,” Pradhan told news agency ANI.

Earlier, ANI had quoted Pradhan as saying that teams of the response force have been on the ground for the last two days.

Also Read: Airport operations shut, roads blocked in Chennai before Cyclone Nivar makes landfall tonight

Cyclone Nivar has intensified into a “very severe cyclonic storm” with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) adding it lies about 90 km south east of Cuddalore, 220 km from Chennai and 150 km from Puducherry.

The Chennai airport on Wednesday evening had cancelled all flight operations from 7 pm on Wednesday till 7 am on Thursday. The decision has been taken considering the safety aspect of passengers and the severity of approaching Cyclone, the airport authorities added.

Also Read: ‘Preparing for worst’, says NDRF chief as Cyclone Nivar nears

Meanwhile, the Railways cancelled more than a dozen special trains on Wednesday and Thursday which were scheduled to either originate from and terminate in southern states. The Railways added that a full refund will be given for the trains which were fully cancelled in view of the cyclone and the time limit for availing them has been extended to six months from the date of journey.