Thousands of people evacuated as India braces for cyclone

New Delhi - Flights at Chennai Airport will remain suspended until Thursday morning.

Tens of thousands of people fled their homes in low-lying areas of southern India and moved to evacuation shelters on Wednesday to escape a cyclone that was barreling toward the region’s coast.

Cyclone Nivar is expected to bring heavy downpours after slamming ashore near Mamallapuram and Karaikal in Tamil Nadu state, the Meteorological Department said.

The storm, with sustained winds of 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 145 kph (90 mph), is likely to damage crops, trees, houses and electrical poles, it said in a statement.

SN Pradhan, director of India’s National Disaster Response Force, said thousands of emergency personnel have been deployed in coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry states, where the cyclone was expected to hit Wednesday night.

In May, nearly 100 people died after Cyclone Amphan, the most powerful storm to hit eastern India in more than a decade, ravaged the region and left millions without power.

• India