Heavy rains and winds are coming in from the Indian city of Chennai. Vardah tropical cyclone with wind speeds of 100 km per hour, the first cyclone, which is coming to the Bay of Bengal this year. It can create a 1 metre storm surge at landfall.

Vardah is expected to bring very heavy rains to Chennai in the South-Eastern state of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The cyclone is currently a category 1 strength but is expected to weaken to a tropical storm with winds of 80 to 90 kilometers per hour (50 to 56 mph), during the approach to the shore. The meteorological Department of India has issued warnings for rain in the South of India.

Chennai, a city in Eastern part of India, is the second largest financial center in the country after Mumbai. Vardah can also ruin the country's agriculture, destroying banana plantations, groves of papaya and rice fields. According to local media, the storm Vardah had to close schools and colleges in Chennai and the coastal areas of Villupuram in Tamil Nadu. The Department of labor also issued an Advisory decision to allow employees to work from home.

Over 170 camps aid was established in Chennai and few national teams in disaster management were deployed in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, according to a representative from the NDRF. Tropical cyclone Vardah was the strongest cyclone since October 2014, when the cyclone "HUD-HUD" struck Andhra Pradesh. Then killed about 100 people and caused damage of $3.4 billion Vardah also can affect the fishing villages along the coast of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
sections: Accidents, World News