Chennai: Ever since Cyclone Nivar made landfall Thursday, viral messages on social media have been claiming that another cyclone called Burevi was on the way.
“Nivar crossed as an empty shell (the centre collapsed before the landfall) near Pondy and is now making its way over land. In spite of the weakening, we can still feel the gusts in Chennai and you can imagine the power of this cyclone. I would call it divine intervention that it weakened. Else the damage would have been catastrophic,” said a WhatsApp message.
It added: “We will continue to feel these gusts until afternoon. No big rains expected, but Nivar has been a surprise for all of us. Light to moderate rains may continue until tomorrow. But the rains are not over for Chennai. 2 more systems are lining up in the Bay of Bengal out of which 1 could become another cyclone called Burevi. The next system is expected to be hit our coasts by 1st or 2nd and the the next by 10th or 11th December.”
Asked about it, Deputy Director General of Meteorology Chennai S Balachandran said that a low pressure area is likely to form around 29 November. “However, whether it will intensify into a cyclone is yet to be known,” he added.
A senior scientist in the Indian Meteorological Department, RK Genmani, said that another low-pressure area is forming in the Bay of Bengal, likely to turn into a cyclone. This has been named Burevi by the Maldives.