Michaung Leaves Trail Of Coastal Devastation

Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha began crawling back to normalcy in the wake of cyclone Michaung, even as residents in the worst hit parts of Chennai continued to grapple with stagnant water that receded only slightly and continued power outages on Wednesday.

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Multiple state and central agencies threw themselves into relief and rescue operations in inundated suburbs such as Tambaram and Velachery through the day, but three more people were found dead under the debris of a private building in Chennai that collapsed on Tuesday, taking the death toll up to at least 20.

There were heavy rains in parts of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday such as Virudhunagar, Dindigul and Sivaganga, but officials said that there was no further damage, the cyclone had weakened, and the worst was now over.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) director general Mrityunjay Mohapatra said that Michaung, which made landfall in coastal Andhra Pradesh at 2pm on Tuesday, had weakened into a deep depression by midnight. "Today, that depression further weakened and by the afternoon became a well-marked pressure area," he said.