Taiwan’s Foxconn and Pegatron have halted manufacturing of Apple iPhones at their factories close to Chennai in southern India due to heavy rains, sources near the matter mentioned on Monday.

In Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai, the state’s largest metropolis and a serious electronics and manufacturing hub, at the very least two folks died and the runway of one of many nation’s busiest airports was submerged after torrential rain as the town braced for a extreme cyclone anticipated to hit within the subsequent 24 hours. Two others had died elsewhere. Cyclone Michaung was anticipated to make landfall on the coast of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh round midday on Tuesday, the nation’s climate workplace mentioned, with sustained winds of 90kph to 100kph (56mph to 62mph), gusting to 110kph.

Foxconn, which employs about 35,000 folks at its Tamil Nadu iPhone manufacturing unit, has but to determine whether or not to renew manufacturing on Tuesday, the sources mentioned.

Foxconn has quickly expanded its presence in India by investing in manufacturing areas within the south of the nation. Apple declined to remark and Foxconn and Pegatron didn’t reply instantly to requests for remark.

This is the second time in current months that Pegatron has been compelled to close its manufacturing unit, having quickly halted meeting of iPhones after a fireplace in September.

Several areas of the town have been submerged in knee-deep water and there have been energy outages since Monday morning, one witness mentioned, evoking recollections of December 2015 when round 290 folks died after catastrophic floods. Authorities in each states have been on excessive alert, evacuating 1000’s of individuals dwelling in coastal areas, officers in each states mentioned, with warnings issued to fishermen to not enterprise out to sea.