Cyclone Nivar Rips Through Puducherry, Chennai

Cyclone Nivar made landfall late Wednesday night at Puducherry, uprooting trees and packing strong winds and rains as thousands of people took refuge in shelters.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the tropical storm has weakened from a "very severe cyclonic storm" to a "severe cyclonic storm" with wind speed of 100-110km per hour, gusting up to 120km per hour.

National and state emergency personnel were deployed in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh due to the storm. Power supply across several cities was suspended to prevent any damage to the power grid.

The weather bureau has forecast that the cyclone will move north and further weaken over the next few hours.

"The danger "is not over yet as some part of the cyclone is still over the sea though center is over the land," the IMD tweeted.

As per reports, trees were uprooted and electricity pylons were toppled after the cyclone hit. Rains have also lashed parts of the region, causing flash floods.

Cyclone Nivar is categorized as the fifth strongest on India's scale of seven storm types. More than a lakh people were evacuated from low-lying areas. A public holiday was declared till Thursday due to the same.