Navy, Coast Guard all set for relief work

The Navy and the Coast Guard are in a state of readiness to assist during Cyclone Nivar, with the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Naval Area ready to deploy five flood relief teams and one diving team in Chennai.

A flood-relief team each is also on standby at the Naval Detachments at Nagapattinam and Rameswaram, and at INS Parundu, a naval air station near Uchipuli in Ramanathapuram district.

One ship, INS Jyoti, has been deployed from Visakhapatnam, together with relief materials and diving teams, to render assistance along the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coast, a defence release said.

The Coast Guard has kept 15 disaster relief teams ready for assisting the State and district administrations and deployed four offshore patrol vessels at sea for helping fishermen and merchant ships.

Two helicopters are on standby for immediate launch post-landfall for rescue and relief efforts. Three Dornier aircraft are also on standby at Visakhapatnam for surveillance, damage assessment and relief.

The Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) at Kalpakkam has activated its cyclone protection mechanism. The authorities are on high alert, monitoring the weather bulletins, ready to take action as and when required, MAPS Director M. Srinivas said. They have also taken precautionary measures, placing sandbags on the coastal side and clearing the storm drains, and inspected plant buildings and structures, he said in a statement.