At the Mercy of Nature

Today morning while I was on my way to office – which is a 6km drive from my home on my bike – I noticed that I was the only person to wear a windcheater. None of the Chennai population surrounding me felt the need to take protection from the monster which has been hovering within 450kms from the metropolis for the past 26 hours.

The monster goes by the name Baaz, a cyclone over the Bay of Bengal, which has been threatening to hit AP and TN. The funny thing about this cyclone is that it has made a mockery out of the met departments predictions, which has been changing its prediction regarding the cyclones path as well as its intensity every hour.


First it was supposed to hit Tamilnadu, then it moved further north to hit between Chennai and Machilipatanam. Now the met has again changed it to hit somewhere between Chennai and Kakinada. The time has also been changing. First it was the evening of 31st of Nov, then it was the afternoon of 1st Dec, and the latest report says that it will hit coast by tomorrow afternoon, i.e. 2nd Dec.

By delaying so much, the cyclone is increasing its chances of hitting the metropolis. There was a similar cyclone sometime during the late 1990’s – either 1997 or 1998 – which acted in a similar fashion. It stayed put at the Andhra cost, and finally hit coast between Chennai and Mahabalipuram. At that time, it had weakened considerably, but still rained for 5 continuous days. I remember it so well, since my school was closed due to flooding and a live wire which was in contact with the water.

If the cyclone hits as per the final prediction by the met department, then with heavy rains and winds the metropolis will get another bountiful gift from the rain god. This would mean more flooding in the already flooded northern and southern suburbs of the city, which has slowly started recovering from the battering it has been receiving for the past few weeks. Rains would also affect the movement of trains, which means that my weekend plans of visiting my parents in Bangalore is at stake.

Also at stake is the test match between India and Sri Lanka, which is suppossed to start from tomorrow. I hear that Bazz is not the only threat for the test match, someone from Chennai has filed a petition with the Chennai High Court, asking for a stay in sale of tickets as well as a stay in the test match.

Baaz is showing us that how much ever advancements we make in science and technology, we humans are still under the mercy of nature. Being unpredictable, the only thing we humans can do is to wait and see things unfolding by itselves. Let hope that Baaz does not cause extensive damage like the super cyclone which stuck Orissa in 1999, which left more than 10,000 dead and resulted in losses which ran into Crores of rupees.

Picture Source: Indian Meterological Department

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Updated on 1st Dec - 1:40pm

Latest prediction by the Met department shows that the cyclone should pass within close proximity to Chennai. Expected to cross sometime in the morning of 3rd Dec. Winds ranging between 80-90kms per hour and rains expected from tomorrow afternoon.


Based on the unpredictable nature of Baaz, lets see how accurate this prediction turns out to be.

Picture Source: Indian Meterological Department

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Updated on 2nd Dec 8:30am

According to the latest update by the Met department, the cyclonic storm has weakened into a depression. It is expected to cross the coast between Chennai and Ongole in AP tonight. The wind speeds is predicted to be around 50-60 kms/hr, considerably lower than the 80-90 kms/hr which was predicted while the storm was out there in the sea.

Its been overcast from the morning, with spells of drizzling now and then. The climate is too good, and everything seems so good since I am sure that my weekends will go as planned.

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Updated on 6th Dec 4:30pm

Baaz did not ruin my weekend plans. Though it did make my journey to the railway station from home a tough one, I was not troubled later on. It rained very heavily on Friday night, and with the lakes being full, all the water entered the storm water drains and low lying areas.

KK Nagar, where I am put up, had never been flooded in the last one month of rain, but with the water from a nearby lake overflowing, water entered our area, rising up to the main door of the ground floor residents of my flat.

Many areas are still reeling under its influence.

As I'm typing, another depression has formed over the Bay of Bengal. It is expected to intensify further, and hit northern TN and southern AP. Lets wait and see how much trouble this new one will cause.