The devastating Cyclone Nilam/ Neelam has hit the Coromandel Coast today at around 4:45 PM as predicted earlier. It  made a  landfall on the Tamil Nadu coast between Mahabalipuram and Kalpakkam.
Reports  showed damaged huts and uprooted trees at many places. Larger-than-usual tidal waves would inundate the low-lying areas of Nellore district.
The cyclone was expected to cause minor damage to power and communication lines, and also to the standing rice and groundnut crops.
Helpline numbers
Cuddalore – 1077
Chennai – 1913
Emergency numbers in Chennai – 26412646, 28170738, 24838968, 24867725,22342355, 24425961, 22420600, 24500923
Neelam would intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm and move north-westwards and cross north Tamil Nadu and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coast between Puducherry and Nellore close to Chennai by evening,
Extremely heavy rainfall of over 25 cm or more with winds upto the speed of 120 kmph  is expected over north Coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the next 24 hours.
The sea condition would be “high to very high” along and off North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and South Andhra Pradesh coast, the Met office said.
An alert has been sounded in the south coastal districts of Nellore, Guntur, Prakasam and Krishna. The sea conditions have turned rough with high waves lashing the coast in Nellore. The sea water gushed up to 100 metres from shoreline in some villages.
The education department has declared a holiday for educational institutions in Chittoor and Nellore districts. Roads and low-lying areas were inundated – this included the temple town of Tirupati in Chittoor district.
Warning signals were put out at Machilipatnam, Krishnapatnam, Nizampatnam and Vadarevu ports.
The Met Office has warned fishermen against venturing out into the sea. It also advised people in coastal areas to remain indoors and take all precautions at the time of the storm’s landfall.
Storm surges of about 1 to 1.5 metres over the astronomical tide are likely to inundate low-lying areas of Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur of Tamil Nadu as well as Nellore.
Extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts and minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large avenue trees is feared.
Meanwhile, an oil tanker with 37-member crew on board today ran aground off the city coast under the impact of high velocity winds before the landfall of cyclone ‘Nilam’.
Coast Guard and other agencies have launched operations to rescue some crew members as a life boat carrying them capsized in choppy waters off Besant Nagar locality in South Chennai, 16 kms from here, Chennai Port Trust sources said.
‘Pratibha Cauvery,’ along with several ships berthed at the Chennai Port, was yesterday asked to go to the Outer Anchorage (OA) of the port as a precautionary measure before the severe cyclonic storm arrived, they said.
However, the ship, anchored about 3.56 nautical miles away from the Port yesterday, drifted and touched the shore near Elliots Beach.
“The ship was carrying 37 people on board,” the sources said, adding that 15 of them tried to escape by life boat but were left stranded in the sea as the vessel capsized.
“So far four persons have been rescued. Coast Guard is coordinating with us”, the sources said.
The 26,000 tonne capacity tanker had two tonnes of light diesel and furnace oil when the mishap occurred.
Update
1 crew member of the ship grounded due to the cyclone is feared dead. Six people are feared missing.