Cyclone Nivar has not even made landfall yet, but the rise in rainfall alone has caused a lot of damage in Chennai. While the cyclone is expected to cross Puducherry by midnight on 25 November, the rainfall has been intense in Tamil Nadu’s capital city.
Although the government of Tamil Nadu is well-prepared and has foreseen the damage that the cyclone could do to power lines and communication networks, floods on the first day of rainfall had not been anticipated.
Locals fear that Chennai will become victim to floods again, as it did in 2015. No one expected the rapid rise of water levels in many areas.