Cyclone Michaung claims eight lives along India's southeast coast
At least 8 people were killed as storms Michaung lashed India's southeast coast, Indian police said Tuesday, with Cyclone Michaung expected to make landfall within hours.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued warnings of the cyclone's trajectory, predicting its arrival on the coast of Andhra Pradesh state as a 'severe cyclonic storm' with wind speeds reaching up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour.
In the capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, authorities reported eight fatalities as a result of the tumultuous weather. Victims succumbed to various incidents including drowning, a fatality from a fallen tree, electrocution from live wires amidst flooded areas, and someone crushed by a collapsing wall.
Images portrayed a grim scene with cars swept away by raging floods, inundated homes, and even a disconcerting sighting of a crocodile navigating the flooded streets. IMD continued to caution about the likelihood of 'exceptionally heavy rainfall' in specific regions.
The impending landfall of the cyclone is projected near the town of Bapatla, located within a 300-kilometer (185-mile) stretch between Nellore and Machilipatnam along India's southeast coast.
Climate scientists have sounded alarms, linking the increasing intensity of storms to global warming and climate change. As temperatures rise globally, storms like Cyclone Michaung are anticipated to become more frequent and severe.
Cyclones, akin to hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the Northwest Pacific, pose a recurring and lethal threat to the densely populated coastal regions of the northern Indian Ocean. These catastrophic events continue to impact tens of millions of people residing along these vulnerable coastlines.
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