Onlookers gather on the beach after the oil tanker ship Pratibha Cauvery ran aground off the coast in Chennai yesterday.
Hyderabad: Heavy rain lashed Andhra Pradesh’s coastal districts under the impact of Cyclone Nilam, whose intensity is expected to increase by last evening.
Many parts of Nellore and Prakasam districts in south coastal Andhra and Chittoor district in Rayalaseema region have been receiving heavy rain accompanied by strong winds since Tuesday night, officials said.
An alert has been sounded in the south coastal districts of Nellore, Guntur, Prakasam and Krishna. The sea conditions have turned rough with high waves lashing the coast in Nellore. The sea water gushed up to 100 metres from shoreline in some villages.
The education department has declared a holiday for educational institutions in Chittoor and Nellore districts. Roads and low-lying areas were inundated - this included the temple town of Tirupati in Chittoor district.
Warning signals were put out at Machilipatnam, Krishnapatnam, Nizampatnam and Vadarevu ports.
According to Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning centre, Nilam would cross north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast between Puducherry and Nellore Wednesday evening.
The Met Office has warned fishermen against venturing out into the sea. It also advised people in coastal areas to remain indoors and take all precautions at the time of the storm’s landfall.
An Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin said Nilam was centred about 260 km south-southeast of Chennai at 8.30am yesterday.
Gale wind speeds reaching 90 to 100kmph and even higher would hit north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts during next 24 hours, according to the warning.
Meanwhile, operations were on to rescue 15 crew members of ship Pratibha Cauvery that ran aground here as cyclone Nilam hit Tamil Nadu coast yesterday afternoon, even as a person died in the mishap and the fate of six people was not immediately known.
An Indian Coast Guard official said: “Search and rescue operations are on for the crew who decided to abandon the ship.”
The official said that still “15 members of the crew are on the ship”. Efforts have been stepped up to rescue them.
The Pratibha Cauvery belonging to Mumbai-based Pratibha Shipping with 37 member crew ran aground here.
For reasons yet not known, out of these 37 people, 22 members of the crew decided to abandon the ship in a life boat, officials of Coast Guard and the Chennai Port Trust said.
Unfortunately the life boat capsized with the crew. Out of the 22 who left the ship on the life boat, 16 people were rescued and admitted to an hospital. The fate of six people is not known, officials said.
IANS
