Heavy rainfall caused by Cyclone Michaung inundated roads in Andhra Pradesh, India. Photo - AP
The death toll in torrential rains and strong winds lashing India's southern and eastern coasts has reached 17 people, officials said, as states there braced for a powerful storm expected to make landfall later Tuesday.
The southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, as well as Odisha in the east, experienced heavy downpours Monday as authorities issued warnings for Tropical Cyclone Michaung, which is likely to hit the southern coast with maximum sustained winds of 90-100 kph (56-62 mph) and gusts up to 110 kph (68 mph), the Indian Meteorological Department said.
Authorities evacuated thousands of people from coastal areas over the preceding days as Michaung churned over the Bay of Bengal in a bid to reduce casualties.
The 17 deaths were confirmed by police in the major city of Chennai, which is the capital of a state by the same name that was hit by flooding sparked by downpours on Monday as the cyclone neared India's shoreline
Michaung, which means strength and resilience, made landfall between Nellore and Kavali in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, which nieghbors Chennai, at about 1 p.m. local time. The storm had sustained winds of 55-60 miles per hour, with more powerful gusts, India's Meteorological Department said.
Authorities in Andhra Pradesh state had evacuated more than 9,500 people from coastal areas to 211 relief camps set up in safer areas, they said.
AP reported earlier: A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a tropical storm Monday as it inched towards Bapatla, a coastal district in Andhra Pradesh state.
On Monday night, authorities in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, said six people in the city had died as the impending storm unleashed rains that caused trees to topple and walls to collapse, and submerged roads and cars in knee-deep waters.
Videos showed water streaming onto the city's airport tarmac, forcing authorities to shut it down and divert more than 30 flights while around 70 were canceled, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Schools were shut in Andhra Pradesh and officials evacuated nearly 2,000 people from coastal and low-lying villages with instructions to move over 7,000 more to safer areas, local media reported.
Tamil Nadu authorities set up nearly 5,000 relief camps in coastal areas. In Chennai, rescuers used boats to evacuate hundreds of people stranded on the roads and inside homes that had filled with floodwaters.