Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Stormrider

Not too many people in Chennai would be concerned about Hurricane Sandy since this morning, I guess. Having gone to bed last night knowing that Sandy had quietened down, attention was once more turned to the local lad who had been pouring all along the south-eastern seaboard of India. Cyclone Nilam is expected to cross the coast this evening. The US Navy's map shows it as passing just south of Chennai. We can certainly look forward to a lot of water today, I guess.

Will the cyclone itself target Chennai? It has been a while since that happened. For years, Chennaiites have been used to hearing how the cyclone of the season was tracking to cross the coast: first the wide range between Nagapattinam and Cuddalore; then, Cuddalore and Chennai, followed by Chennai and Nellore, before making landfall between Nellore and Ongole - or veering off towards Bangladesh. It appeared that Chennai was well protected and we remained thankful, even as we agonized over losses in places far less prepared to face a cyclone.

Nilam will be less violent than Thane was, according to the Met. Office. So maybe there is still a chance that you can take a walk down the Marina as it pours away like this!



2 comments:

Lowell said...

Cyclones, hurricanes ... I hate 'em. We've had our fill here in Florida, but I do feel for those poor folks in the northeastern area of the U.S. They got hammered and usually don't have to deal with such things. I do believe climate change due to global warming will bring more disasters on a regular basis. Unfortunately, our politicians aren't doing much about it and many of them still deny global warming even as water swirls at their feet!

Shantaram said...

@Lowell: I believe H.Sandy brought the issue up - maybe for a few hours - and then it was back to business. Sad, but true.