The heavy rain has been caused in Chennai by Cyclone Michaung.
The Tamil Nadu forest department has issued an advisory after a “mugger crocodile” was spotted on a Chennai road amid heavy rain. Additional Chief Secretary to Tamil Nadu Government Supriya Sahu on Monday re-shared a video, which was originally posted by Sun News, on X (formerly Twitter).
The now-viral clip shows a giant crocodile crossing the road near Velammal New Gen School in Chennai early this morning.
The video, which was captured by a commuter while sitting in a car, also shows two men slowing down their bike after spotting the reptile on the road.
Bureaucrat Supriya Sahu said that the crocodile came out of a water body after it began to overflow after heavy rain. The heavy rain has been caused by Cyclone Michaung.
“Many are tweeting about this video. There are a few mugger crocodiles in several of the water bodies in Chennai. These are shy elusive animals and avoid human contact. This one has come out as the water has overflown due to massive rains under the impact of Cyclone Michuang please do not go close to water bodies. There is no possibility of harm to humans if these animals are left alone and unprovoked. No need to panic. Wildlife division has been alerted and they are on the job to avoid any untoward incident," she wrote on X.
The weather office has issued an alert as Cyclone Michaung, which is currently swirling over the Bay of Bengal, is expected to head towards the Andhra coast.
The cyclone has unleashed torrential rain upon Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. In addition, by Tuesday noon, the cyclone is expected to make landfall between Nellore and Machilipatnam.