Tens of thousands evacuated as cyclone targets southeast India

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from low-lying areas of the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu ahead of a cyclone expected to make landfall in the early hours of Thursday.

Cyclone Nivar, labelled a category 1 “severe cyclonic storm” on a scale from 1 to 5 by Tropical Storm Risk, was likely to damage houses, uproot power lines and trees and destroy crops along India’s southeast coast, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

“Over 145,000 people have been shifted to 1,516 relief camps across the state as a precaution,” R.B. Udhayakumar, Tamil Nadu’s disaster management minister, told Reuters.

Edappadi Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu state’s chief minister, has

declared Wednesday and Thursday public holidays in some areas, advised fishermen not venture out to sea and asked people to stay indoors.

Read more at REUTERS