Jal arrives: 5 dead in Andhra, life disrupted in TN

Hyderabad: The cyclonic storm, Jal, heading towards Andhra Pradesh claimed five lives in different districts on Sunday, officials said.

Of the five deaths, three were from Nellore district, officials in the Disaster Management Department told PTI.

The cyclonic storm, Jal, which was earlier declared as a "very severe cyclone" has, however, lost its intensity, they said.

The cyclone lay centred about 282 kms from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and was likely to hit the land Sunday night.

The wind speed would be about 70-80 kmph.

Under the influence of the cyclone, heavy rains were likely to occur in the areas along the coast, which could damage hutments and small trees, the officials said.

The state government has evacuated about 6,000 people and was running 30 relief camps in seven coastal districts, they added.

Earlier in the day, state Revenue Minister D Prasada Rao said evacuation of people to the relief camps had started and that people should not resist being evacuated.

Meanwhile, copious rains, brought by cyclonic storm 'Jal', on Sunday disrupted normal life here and in other parts of Tamil Nadu inundating low-lying areas, while two persons were killed in rain-related incidents.

Over 10,000 families living in low-lying areas in the city have been accommodated in community halls and schools.

Chennai corporation authorities have set up four massive kitchens to prepare food for these families, officials said.

A weather bulletin said that the cyclone moved westwards and lay centred at 1430 hrs over southwest Bay of Bengal about 150 km east-southeast of Chennai and 280 km south-southeast of Nellore, 450 km north of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka).

'Jal' would move west-northwestwards, slightly weaken further and cross north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coasts between Chennai and Nellore as a cyclonic storm tonight, it said.

Rain or thundershower would occur at most places with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places and isolated extremely heavy falls (25 cm) over north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during next 24 hours beginning 8 am in the morning on Sunday.

Isolated heavy to very heavy falls would occur over Rayalaseema and South Coastal Andhra Pradesh in the same period, it said.

Gales reaching 90 kmph would prevail along and off North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts. Sea conditions will be rough.

A 50-year-old man died here today when a branch fell on him due to strong winds, police said.

At Kanyakumari in Nagercoil district, a 38-year-old man, who went for sightseeing near the beach, slipped from a rock and was washed away by the high waves.

The victim's body was later recovered, they said, adding he hailed from Bangalore.

Chennai had been experiencing intermittent rains since last night. It recorded a rainfall of three centimetres till 1430 hours today, the weather office said.

Being a Sunday, most residents preferred to remain home.

Most cinema houses reported thin attendance, a rare phenomenon on an off day.

Schools and colleges would tomorrow remain closed in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts.

If the cyclone hits the Chennai coast, it would be the first one to do so in 44 years. The last such incident was recorded in 1966.