Cyclone Nivar to hit south Andhra Pradesh coast Wednesday

Cyclone Nivar is heading towards the north Tamil Nadu coast and south Andhra Pradesh. It is expected to make landfall between Mamallapuram and Karaikal, including Mayiladuthurai district on Wednesday.

According to the India Meteorological Department, speed of winds could reach 100 kmph during the landfall. The department has advised agriculture and horticulture farmers to harvest their crops without delay.

"Cyclone Nivar may cause heavy to extremely heavy rains at isolated places in Rayalaseema and south coastal AP districts on Wednesday and Thursday," IMD's Andhra Pradesh director S Stella said.

The weather department has asked fishermen not to venture into the sea. Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts are also likely to receive light to moderate rains. The disaster management, police, forest, health services, and others have been put on high alert.

It said that the present system will very likely turn into a depression by Monday and further intensify into a cyclone on Tuesday. It will move northwestwards before crossing land between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday afternoon.