Schools shut, thousands evacuated as cyclone barrells towards IndiaDecember 12, 2016 - 18:59 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Authorities in India evacuated tens of thousands of people from low-lying areas and closed schools and colleges on Monday, December 12, as a cyclone barrelled towards the southeastern coast, Reuters says. Cyclone Vardah is moving westwards over the Bay of Bengal and is expected to hit Chennai, the capital of southern Tamil Nadu state, as well as neighbouring Andhra Pradesh in the next few hours, said the Indian Meteorological Department, describing it as a "very severe storm". Rain began battering the densely populated coast ahead of the storm's landfall, while fierce winds uprooted trees and electricity pylons. Flights at Chennai airport were delayed or cancelled. Vardah is forecast to weaken gradually as it moves west but the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said wind speeds had picked up to around 140 kmph, with heavy rain expected when the storm reaches land. A "storm surge" will be about one metre high. More than 23,000 people in Tamil Nadu have been moved to relief centres, with plans for tens of thousands more to be evacuated, a senior state official, K. Satyagopal, told Reuters. More than 10,000 people from two districts in Andhra Pradesh have also been moved, its disaster management commissioner, M.V. Seshagiri Babu, said. The NDMA warned fishermen not to venture to sea for the next 36 hours, and urged residents to stay in safe places. Navy ships and aircraft, as well as 30 diving teams, were on standby to help move people and deliver aid if needed, a navy spokesman said, according to Reuters. India's cyclone season usually runs from April to December, with storms often causing dozens of deaths, evacuations of tens of thousands of people and widespread damage to crops and property. Wind speeds topped 300 km per hour (186 mph) in an Indian "super-cyclone" that killed 10,000 people in 1999, while a cyclone packing speeds of more than 200 kph (124 mph) lashed the east coast in 2013. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |