3 dead in Tamil Nadu as Cyclone Nivar leaves after making a landfall

Three people were killed in Tamil Nadu as Cyclone Nivar made landfall overnight near the coastal town of Marakkanam, 30 km north of Puducherry. Hours after the landfall, the tropical storm has weakened from a "very severe cyclonic storm" to a "severe cyclonic storm".

The cyclone crossed the coast from 2330 IST of 25th November to 0230 IST of 26th November with estimated wind speeds of 120-130 kmph, the IMD said.

More than two lakh people were evacuated to safety in the two coastal states that had been bracing for the cyclone - the fifth-strongest category on India's scale of seven storm types.

The severe cyclonic storm Nivar now lay centered over north coastal Tamil Nadu, about 50 km northwest of Puducherry. It still maintains a wind speed of 85 to 95 kmph as it moves to interior areas. It would move northwest wards and weaken further into a cyclonic storm during next three hours.

In the past 24 hours till Thursday morning, 164 places in Andhra Pradesh witnessed a rainfall of more than 60 mm as the very severe cyclonic storm Nivar lashed the whole state.