As Chennai and the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu are preparing to brace up for the impending cyclonic storm Mandous, which will be making landfall during the midnight hours of December 9, the city administration has released emergency helpline numbers amid the mayhem that is caused by incessant showers in the city with the prediction of heavy rainfall during the landfall. 

The Greater Chennai Corporation has been enhancing its infrastructure to address such natural calamities and ahead of the Mandous landfall, the civic body has been taking necessary measures and relief works to evacuate the people and to mitigate major disruptions due to rainfall. Mandous will be making between Puducherry and Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. 

After being intensified as a Severe Cyclonic Storm, Mandous had got weakened as the Cyclonic Storm and currently, it is over southwest Bay of Bengal and it is moving in a speed of 13 kms per hour for the past six hours. The Regional office of India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Chennai said on Friday morning that Mandous is likely to move northwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts between Puducherry and Sriharikota around Mamallapuram. 

The maximum speed of wind during landfall is expected to be between 65 to 75 kmph and the speed would increase to 85 kmph during the midnight of December 9 and early hours of December 10. Several parts of Chennai have witnessed rainfall on Thursday night and during the morning hours of Friday and the people in the city are advised to refrain from travelling and they are asked not to ply adjacent to the coastal stretch.

The Greater Chennai Corporation has advised the residents not to visit beaches and it has ordered to close all the corporation parks and playgrounds until further notice. In the wake of predictions that the cyclone could impact the city with a gusting wind speed, the corporation officials have directed to remove all banners that were hoarded across the city. The civic body has stationed 805 motors to pump out the water from the inundated areas and around 170 camps have been installed across the city to shelter the evacuated residents. 

The corporation has also given emergency helpline numbers through which the residents can register complaints and seek help. As per the announcement, the people can reach out to the officials through the numbers 1913, 044-25619206, 044-25619207, and 044-25619208. They can also reach out through WhatsApp - 9445477205. By instructing the residents not to park their cars under trees, the corporation has asked them not to stand beneath the trees and electric poles. 

The residents are also advised not to venture into the abandon buildings. According to the IMD, heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur in a few places over Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Villupuram districts while the isolated places in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Ranipet, Vellore, Tirupathur, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, and Tiruvannamalai will receive very heavy rainfall during the cyclone landfall. The Tamil Nadu government has already deployed 12 teams from both National and State Disaster Response Force in ten districts.