The state of Tamil Nadu is getting prepared to prevent large-scale devastation from Cyclone Nivar, which has now intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and will make landfall on Wednesday evening between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram. Several parts of the state have been imposed with complete lockdown after the government had suspended public transports and closed the government services on Wednesday. The state government has decided to release excess water 

Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has on Tuesday declared a public holiday for the state on Wednesday and appealed to the people to stay indoors. According to the Regional Meteorological Center, Chennai, the cyclone was centered 320 kms from Puducherry coast and 380 kms from Chennai coast in the Bay of Bengal as of Wednesday morning. The cyclone is expected to make landfall between Karaikkal in Puducherry and Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu between the night of November 25 and the early morning hours of November 26.

The state has been going through a rainy week with several coastal districts have been receiving heavy to extremely heavy rainfall since Monday and the current trend is expected to continue till Thursday. Several parts of Chennai have already been inundated by heavy rainfall, pushing the residents to endure a major disruption in their daily lives. The meteorological center has said that Nungambakkam has received 14 cm rainfall and Meenambakkam recorded 12 cm rainfall on Tuesday. 

The streets and important roads were inundated by rainwater and the visuals from the city had shown the vehicles are snarling in heavy traffic. With rainwater and the visuals from the city had shown the vehicles are snarling in heavy traffic. With warnings and cyclone alert, the residents of Chennai and other vulnerable areas have been bracing up to the heavy rainfall in memories of the 2015 floods that majorly devastated Chennai and its adjacent districts.

The city had got inundated within hours of the rainfall showcasing the lack of measures to drain the rainwater. The establishments and companies were closed on Wednesday and instructed its employees to work from home while the state government has appealed to the people to stock up the essential and necessary commodities. Weather blogger Pradeep John has said that Cyclone Nivar can intensify and become stronger than Cyclone Gaja, which devastated the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu in 2018. 

The residents of Chennai have been given a flood warning as the government has decided to open the excess water from Chembarambakkam Lake to Adyar river as the lake has overflown due to heavy rains. The government has decided to open the lake by 12 pm on Wednesday and people living on the banks of the Adyar river have been advised to get evacuated immediately from their residences and go to safer places. The government has spelled a flood warning for the areas including Kavalur, Kundrathur, Thiruneermalai, Sirukulathur, and Thirumudivakkam and advised people from these areas to evacuate. 

According to reports, around 1000 cusecs of water will be released from the Chembarambakkam lake and the government has begun the evacuation process of evacuating people from the banks of the Adyar river. The Chennai Corporation has arranged 77 relief centers across the city to accommodate the evacuated people and relief works and the government has asked the people to stay vigilant. 

The government's decision of opening Chembarambakkam lake has reminded the residents of the 2015 floods, which occurred after the government has suddenly opened the lake. The state government has alerted all the district administrations to take precautionary measures to tackle Cyclone Nivar and the government has deployed teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) across the coastal districts to carry out the relief efforts.  

The Regional Meteorological Center has said that the winds will blow at 120-130 kmph and may gust up to 145 kmph and extremely heavy to very heavy rainfall will be recorded in Puducherry, Cuddalore, Ariyalur, Trichy, Mayiladuthurai, Villupuram, and Tiruvannamalai. The speed of the wind will be around 80-90 kmph at Chennai, Kancheepuram, Thiruvarur, Chengalpattu, and Thiruvallur.