Three people were killed in Tamil Nadu as Cyclone Nirav made landfall overnight near the costal town of Marakkanam, 30 km north of Puducherry. Hours after the landfall, the tropical storm has weakened from a “very severe cyclonic storm” to a “severe cyclonic storm”. More than two lakh people were evacuated to safety in the two coastal states that had been bracing for the cyclone – the fifth-strongest category on India’s scale of seven storm types. While the damage assessment is on, the state governments said they were working on “war-footing” amid heavy rainfall and flooding in many parts. Cyclone Nivar made landfall at around 2:30 am, with winds of up to 130 km per hour (81 miles per hour), according to the India Meteorological Department.
