A deep depression over Bay of Bengal crossed the coast near Nagapattinam today afternoon, with the district in the state bearing the brunt of the system.
"The depression over southwest Bay of Bengal crossed Tamil Nadu coast near Nagapattinam between 1230 and 1330 hrs IST of today," Indian Meteorological Department said.
Hundreds of trees were uprooted and banana plantation in many parts in Nagapattinam were damaged following gusty winds since today morning.
Electric posts were damaged in Sirkazhi with power supply suspended in most parts of the district as precautionary measure. At Vellapallam village near Tarangambadi, a fish auction hall building was damaged due to strong winds. At Darkas area in Sirkazhi, the roof of a school building flew off due to squally winds.
The sea condition was very rough and high tides were visible in many places. More than 10,000 fishermen did not venture into the sea.
Meanwhile, senior IAS officer Basheer Ahmed, who has been appointed as Monitoring Officer for Nagapattinam district, held a meeting with District Collector T Munusamy, Superintendent of Police Maheswar Kalidoss and officials of various departments. A 24-hour control room has been opened at the Collectorate.
With the depression crossing the coast, regional weather office forecast heavy rains in northern districts and rains in southern districts of Tamil Nadu for the next 24 hours. Chennai and surrounding areas witnessed intermittent showers even as fishermen did not venture into the sea.