3 killed as cyclone Nivar wreaks havoc in Tamil Nadu  

Three persons were killed and an equal number injured as the very severe cyclonic storm Nivar wreaked havoc in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Thursday.

According to the Tamil Nadu government, three persons lost their lives due to rain related incidents and three got injured. The state government also said that 26 cattle had also died in the storm.

On its way the cyclone also damaged several houses, uprooted trees and power lines in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore, Marakkanam and in Puducherry also.

A total of 101 houses, including thatched huts and tiled houses were damaged by cyclone, the Tamil Nadu government said.

According to the government, about 380 trees were uprooted by Nivar and 14 acre banana plantation was also damaged.

In Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district, police said the fallen trees have been removed to ease the flow of traffic.

The government said it was carrying out the repairs quickly to restore power lines. A total of 19 electric poles, which fell down, have been repaired.

At Marakkanam near Puducherry, several power poles fell down and the fishermen community requested the Tamil Nadu government to restore the power lines at the earliest.

In the suburbs of Tamil Nadu capital Chennai, water got logged due to rains affecting the residents as well as the traffic flow.

Bus services that were stopped from November 24 afternoon ahead of the cyclone were resumed on Thursday afternoon in seven districts of Tamil Nadu.

Suburban train services in Chennai will also be resumed at 3 p.m.

About 2.27 lakh persons have been housed in 3,085 relief camps.

Chief Minister K.Palaniswami appreciated the work done by the Greater Chennai Corporation and Greater Chennai Police in removing the fallen trees and helping the needy.

Palaniswami also visited Cuddalore to inspect the cyclone damages and meet the affected people.

In Puducherry also several trees were uprooted by the cyclone and the power supply was disrupted.

Puducherry Chief Minister V.Narayanasamy told a news channel that power supply will be restored in a phased manner on Thursday itself.

He said, a lot of trees have fallen due to the cyclone and rain was continuing.

Narayanasamy said the low lying areas were inundated and work was on to drain the water. "Fallen trees were being removed. Power supply was disrupted and it will be soon restored in a phased manner in 12 hours", he said.

As regards the cyclone damage to life and property, Narayanasamy said the assessment will be made and by this afternoon an estimate of damage will be known.

He said 80 relief camps have been set up in Puducherry. Camps have also been set up in Karaikal.

Narayanasamy said, "By God's grace people of Puducherry escaped the fury of Nivar."

He also inspected the cyclone damaged areas and urged the people to stay indoors and fishermen not to venture into the seas.

According to the weather department the cyclone lays centered over coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry about 25km north of Puducherry with wind blowing at a speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph.

Nivar will move northwest and weaken further into a cyclonic storm during the next three hours, the IMD said.

The cyclone began its landfall on Wednesday night about 10.30 p.m. after moving at a speed of 16 kmph for six hours.

In an early morning tweet, Puducherry's Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi said: "Good #MorningNutrition. Puducherry has faced the Cyclone, collectively and resolutely. Making us a stronger and a more experienced team."

Even after landfall, the cyclone was likely to maintain its intensity for about six hours and weaken gradually.

The sea along the coast was very rough with huge waves were hitting the shores.

The IMD said, "Under its influence rainfall at most/many places with heavy to very heavy fall at a few places with isolated extremely heavy falls are likely to occur over Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai, Tirupattur, Vellore districts of Tamil Nadu and Chittoor, Kurnool, Prakasam and Cuddappa districts of Andhra Pradesh.

Gale wind speed reaching 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph very likely to prevail over interior districts (Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai, Tirupattur, Vellore) of Tamil Nadu and Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh in the early morning to forenoon, the weather department had said.

The Puducherry government too has announced Thursday as a public holiday.

Twenty five teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh.