Cyclone Ditwah may batter TN, red alert for four districts
CHENNAI: Cyclonic storm Ditwah, which has intensified over the south-west Bay of Bengal, moved further inland over Sri Lanka on Friday and is now heading towards the North Tamil Nadu–Puducherry–South Andhra Pradesh stretch. The system is expected to influence weather over coastal districts from Friday night, bringing intense rainfall.
A red alert has been issued for Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts in TN, and Puducherry on Saturday. For Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai, Salem and delta districts, orange alert has been issued with extremely heavy rainfall expected on Saturday.
Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai said the cyclone moved north-northwestwards at around 7 kmph over the past six hours and, as of 8.30 pm on November 28, lay centred over coastal Sri Lanka and adjoining south-west Bay of Bengal near latitude 8.8°N and longitude 80.8°E.
It was positioned about 60 km west-northwest of Trincomalee, 160 km northwest of Batticaloa, 260 km south-southeast of Karaikal, 370 km south-southeast of Puducherry, and 470 km south of Chennai.
Heavy rain may lash Chennai, Kanchi tomorrow
The IMD said the system is very likely to continue moving north-northwestwards across the Sri Lankan coast and adjoining Bay, and is expected to reach the south-west Bay of Bengal, close to the North TN–Puducherry–south AP coasts, by early morning of November 30.
On Sunday, as Ditwah moves closer to the North TN coast, Tiruvallur and Ranipet are likely to receive extremely heavy rain, while Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Vellore, Tirupattur, Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri may see widespread heavy to very heavy rainfall. Light to moderate rain may persist across parts of the State beyond December 1 as the system weakens gradually.
Weather blogger Pradeep John noted that although the system may strengthen slightly after emerging from SL landmass, it would simultaneously encounter strong wind shear and dry air intrusion, limiting its intensity.
The IMD has issued a high-wind warning, forecasting winds of 70–80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph over the delta and adjoining coastal districts, Puducherry and Karaikal on Saturday.
Northern coastal districts, including Chennai, may experience 60–70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph on Sunday as the cyclone’s core passes offshore. Thunderstorms with lightning are likely at isolated locations across the State till December 1.
Flight services linking Chennai with other cities affected
Several flights connecting Chennai with southern TN and parts of Kerala and Karnataka are set to be severely disrupted on Saturday. Operational data reviewed by TNIE shows that around 54 scheduled flights were cancelled on Friday. Flight services linking Chennai with Madurai, Tiruchi, Thoothukudi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Puducherry Thiruvananthapuram and Andaman Islands have been affected.
CM reviews readiness; 16 SDRF & 12 NDRF teams on the standby
CM Stalin on Friday visited the Emergency Operations Centre in Chennai and reviewed the precautionary measures taken in 14 districts for Cyclone Ditwah. With the cyclone expected to move towards the northern TN coast and cause heavy rainfall on November 29 & 30, 16 SDRF and 12 NDRF teams have been deployed across vulnerable districts. Central forces Army, Navy, Air Force and the Indian Coast Guard — have been asked to remain on standby