Mudslide kills bus driver, injures conductor as heavy rain hits Nilgiris; IMD warns of very severe cyclonic storm

UPDATE - follow-up to Low pressure over Bay of Bengal likely to turn into cyclonic storm | Live:

Incident

A Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus on the Coimbatore‑Nilgiris route was hit by a mudslide at Burliyar in the Nilgiris district on the early hours of October 24. Soil, debris and uprooted trees fell on the vehicle, burying it under slush. The driver was killed and the conductor suffered serious injuries, police said.

Weather Outlook

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has upgraded the Bay of Bengal system to a very severe cyclonic storm, the second‑highest intensity category. It expects the storm to move west‑northwest and hit the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam around the morning of October 28, with red alerts for 13 districts and winds of about 130 km/h. Moderate to heavy rain is forecast across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry until October 26, with isolated very heavy rain in Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Chennai and many interior districts.

Response

The Greater Chennai Corporation has activated flood‑preparedness measures: drones for real‑time surveillance, zonal control rooms, relief centres, kitchens and motor pumps, and monitoring of suburban waterbodies. Odisha’s government has ordered school closures in five coastal districts for October 28‑29. District Collector S. Durga Moorthy inspected flooded houses in the Sri Lankan Tamil refugee camp at Puliyampatti after more than 100 homes were inundated.

Context

Heavy rains from the same system have already caused landslides, flooding of refugee camps and disruption of transport, while the cyclone’s intensification raises the risk of widespread damage across multiple states.