The Indian Meteorological Department said the cyclone was forecast to hit the coast of Andhra Pradesh state later on Tuesday, as a “severe cyclonic storm”, packing winds up to 100 kilometres (62 miles) per hour.
In Chennai, cars were seen floating on raging torrents, homes were flooded, and a crocodile was spotted swimming the streets in the city.
In some parts of the flooded city, people used boats to get out of their flooded neighbourhoods to the safety of government relief shelters.
The IMD warned of “exceptionally heavy rainfall” in some areas.
“We are facing the worst storm in recent memory,” Tamil Nadu state chief minister M.K. Stalin said, in a statement late Monday.
Police on Tuesday said that eight people had been killed in the state capital of Chennai.
They included some who drowned, as well as one person hit by a falling tree, another electrocuted by live wires in the water, and one crushed by a falling wall.
Trees were uprooted and vehicles swept away due to the heavy rains, according to images posted on social media.
Apple iPhone manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron and automaker Hyundai suspended their operations in Tamil Nadu due to the storm, local media reported.
AFP
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