Rains batter north TN as cyclone moves closer to coast
Chennai: Heavy rains battered the coastal areas of north Tamil Nadu on Wednesday as cyclone 'Laila' further intensified and moved to lay centred in the Bay of Bengal around 190 km east-northeast of Chennai and is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast on Thursday.
The cyclonic storm over southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal moved slightly northwards and lay centred at about 190 km east-northeast of Chennai at 5.30 AM, bringing heavy rains in several places, including the city, since Tuesday night, Met department officials here said on Wednesday.
Image: A motorcyclist is assisted by youths as he uses a trolley to move his vehicle through floodwaters in Chennai on May 19, 2010, during heavy rain ahead of the arrival of Cyclone Laila . A "severe" cyclone packing winds of up to 125 kilometres an hour closed in southeast coast as thousands of residents evacuated their homes fearing major storm damage. Cyclone Laila was set to slam into the state of Andhra Pradesh May 20, 2010 with forecasters warning of a sea surge and disrupted power and communication lines.
Text: IANS
Images: PTI & AFP
