Andhra Pradesh: Districts braces up for Cyclone Mandous

TIRUPATI/VIJAYAWADA: South coastal districts of the state are braced up for severe Cyclone Mandous, which is hurtling fast toward South Andhra Pradesh and North Tamil Nadu coasts. Landfall is expected to be between Sriharikota and Puducherry anytime between Friday midnight and Saturday early hours.

IMD report says that the severe cyclonic storm "Mandous" moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 13 kmph during the past six hours and lay centred at 5.30 hours today about 270 km south-southeast of Chennai.

Under its influence, South Coastal and Rayalaseema districts are experiencing moderate rainfall since the early hours of Friday.  Sea is rough along the coastal areas of Tirupati, Nellore, and other southern districts of the state.

According to APSDMA, which is closely monitoring the situation, 210 mandals are likely to be affected due to the cyclone and the administrations of respective districts including Chittoor, Tirupati, Nellore, Annamaiah, and Prakasam districts.

#CycloneMandous: Heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places with extremely heavy falls at isolated places very likely over north coastal TN, Puducherry; north interior Tamilnadu and adjoining south Coastal AP and Rayalaseema: IMD pic.twitter.com/wm4t2DD4Kv

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) December 9, 2022

As a precautionary measure, district administrations of Chittoor and Tirupati declared a  holiday for schools post lunch. With high-velocity winds, electric poles at a few places in Nellore and Tirupati districts were reported to have been uprooted.

NDRF and SDRF teams have been stationed at strategic locations to take up rescue and relief operations, wherever needed. A total of five NDRF and 4 SDRF teams have been deployed to Nellore, Prakasam, Tirupati, and Chittoor districts.