Cyclone Nivar
Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Nivar was a tropical cyclone which brought severe impacts to portions of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in late November 2020. The eighth depression and fourth named storm of the 2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Nivar originated from a disturbance in the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The disturbance gradually organized and on 23 November, both the Joint Typhoon Warning Center and the India Meteorological Department reported that a tropical depression had formed. On the next day, both agencies upgraded the system to a tropical storm, with the latter assigning it the name Nivar. Nivar made its landfall over north coastal Tamil Nadu between Puducherry and Chennai close to Marakkanam. Overall, Nivar caused $600 million in damages.
Meteorological history
On 22 November, an area of low pressure formed in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Tamil Nadu. It intensified into a depression in the early hours of 23 November. In the early hours of 24 November, it further intensified into a cyclonic storm and it was named Nivar. Immediately, the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre gave a TCFA and designated it unofficially as Tropical Cyclone 04B. The IMD issued cyclone warnings off the coast of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Sri Lanka. On 25 November, the cyclone reached its peak intensity of 120 km/h, which classified it as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm. The JTWC designated it as a category 1 tropical cyclone of 130 km/h. It made a landfall in Marakkanam close to Pondicherry at midnight on 25 November. After that, it gradually weakened into a Deep Depression in the early hours of the 26th and the JTWC issued the final warning on the system at the same time. Afterwards, the system entered back into the Bay of Bengal as a Deep Depression and made its second and final landfall at the Andhra Pradesh coast on the same day. It weakened in the early hours of 27 November at the Rayalaseema region.Preparations
Sri Lanka
Red warnings were put in place for northern Sri Lanka, with the threat of heavy rainfall in the region.India
On 24 November, six National Disaster Response Force teams have been posted to Cuddalore and two teams will be deployed in Chennai. Tamil Nadu government suspended bus services until further orders in seven districts of Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Viluppuram, Chengalpattu and Cuddalore. During a review meeting, Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, K. Palaniswami asked his cabinet members and officials to remain completely vigilant and take necessary precautions ahead of the Cyclone. Officials were also directed to ensure that people in vulnerable areas were evacuated. Measures were taken by the Tamil Nadu government to store dry rations and fuel for the people after the cyclone's impact. The Tamil Nadu government declared a statewide holiday on 25 November. The Tamil Nadu state government reported that more than 100,000 people were evacuated and were sheltered in 1000 relief centers.The District magistrate of the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh reported that 3,363 people were sheltered in 115 relief camps.
On 26 November, the IMD issued yellow alert in several parts of Karnataka including Bengaluru.