CHENNAI: Cyclone Ditwah, which lay over the southwest Bay of Bengal is unlikely to make landfall as it weakened and moved northwards parallel to the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts.
Moving at a sluggish 10 kmph speed for nearly six hours, the system was positioned about 190 km south-southeast of Puducherry and 290 km south of Chennai as of 5.30 pm on Saturday.
According to the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, the cyclone is showing clear signs of weakening.
Coastal pockets of TN recorded between 175 mm and 250 mm as feeder bands continue to strike the shoreline on Saturday. For the KTCC region—Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Chennai and Chengalpattu—the most significant rainfall is expected on Sunday.
According to the RMC, the system is very likely to persist on its north-northwestward track and approach the southwest Bay, close to the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry-south Andhra Pradesh coast by early Sunday.
As it skirts the shoreline, Ditwah is expected to come within 50 km of the Tamil Nadu coast by early Sunday and close to 25 km by evening.
IMD retains red alert until Monday; Chennai, suburbs may witness heavy rains today
By Saturday afternoon, the cyclone’s core appeared exposed and the convective structure looked significantly disrupted after traversing the Sri Lankan landmass. Intrusion of dry air further eroded the system’s organisation. Although a brief window of night-time (diurnal) intensification exists, forecasts suggest the system may continue to drift up the coast in its present weakened state.
The forecast indicates very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over Tiruvallur and Ranipet on November 30, while Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore and Tirupattur too may receive very heavy spells. Isolated heavy showers are likely over Tiruvallur on December 1.
Despite this weakening trend, the IMD retained the red and orange alerts issued already, cautioning that Ditwah would continue to bring heavy to very heavy rainfall to several coastal districts. Rain activity is likely to persist till December 1.
“About 28 disaster response teams of SDRF and NDRF are on standby. We are planning to airlift 10 more teams from other states. The Air Force and Coast Guard have also been alerted,” Minister K K S S R Ramachandran told reporters in Chennai on Saturday.
Gale winds of 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph, prevailed along parts of the TN-Puducherry coast on Saturday and are likely to continue till early Sunday. Wind speeds are expected to ease thereafter, though conditions will remain blustery through the day. Sea conditions continue to be high to very rough and are likely to improve only from December 1. Fishermen have been advised to avoid venturing into the sea till then.
As per official data recorded till 5.30 pm on Saturday, Karaikal received the highest rainfall of 145 mm, followed by Nagapattinam (113 mm), Pamban (71 mm), Mayiladuthurai (76.5 mm), Tiruvarur (66 mm) and Cuddalore (59 mm). Chennai’s Meenambakkam and Nungambakkam recorded 8.6 mm and 6.2 mm respectively.
Meanwhile, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed preparedness measures with General Manager and teams of Southern Railways to ensure minimum disruption to rail services and ensure safety for passengers and coastal populations, a release by the PIB said. He emphasised establishment of helplines and passenger-assistance desks to support travellers.
Red & orange alert for districts retained
The IMD has retained the red and orange alerts issued earlier, with very heavy to extremely heavy rain forecast for Tiruvallur and Ranipet, and very heavy spells predicted for Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Tirupattur and several coastal districts in TN on Sunday.