CHENNAI: The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), an arm of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, issued a red alert for South Tamil Nadu coastal districts as high energy swell waves are likely to hit the coast from the wee hours of Saturday, causing severe inundation, especially in the low-lying areas.
The alert said the near shore region and the low lying areas may experience surges intermittently during 5.30 am on Saturday to 11.30 pm on Sunday.
TM Balakrishnan Nair, senior scientist at INCOIS, told TNIE these are not usual swell waves experienced during April-May. “These are high period (16-23 seconds) swell waves reaching a height of two metres, especially during high tides. The sea water can gush deep inland. The Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority has been notified.”
He asked fishermen and the coastal population to be cautious of possible surges of waves and small vessels to not ply nearshore. Boats may be anchored at a fair distance from each other, to avoid collision and damage. Total suspension of operational/recreational activities at beach/nearshore regions is advised, he added.
Swell surge warning was issued to Kerala, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands as well.
Nair said the swell started at around 10,000 km away from Indian coast on April 26 in the southern Atlantic Ocean and slowly moved towards southern Indian Ocean around April 28. “This caused the high energy swell propagation towards the Indian coastal regions which is expected to hit the southern tip of India in the early hours of Saturday. The phenomenon is called kallakadal,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was another hot day for north interior districts, where the heatwave is likely to prevail till May 6. Erode recorded the highest maximum temperature of 43.40C, which is 5.3 0C above normal. Meenambakkam weather station in Chennai breached 400C for the second time.