A cyclonic storm named ‘Nada’ is likely to make landfall on the Tamil Nadu coast on December 2, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. Coastal and interior Tamil Nadu will be receiving rainfall for 48 hours from December 1, the IMD said.
In a press released at 11 30am on Wednesday, the IMD said that the deep depression over southeast Bay of Bengal is moving at a speed of 25kmph and has intensified into a cyclonic storm. It was placed at 770km southeast of Chennai and 730km southeast of Puducherry.
The cyclone is ‘very likely’ to intensify further and make a landing in the early hours of December 2 in north TN coast, between Vedaranyam and Puducherry, close to Cuddalore, said the IMD.
IMD has issued a colour coded cyclonic warning of ‘orange’.
Skymet Weather reports that the well-marked low pressure area in southeast Bay of Bengal has been intensifying rapidly in the last 12 hours.
It adds that the system is now sustaining a strength of a deep depression and has a full potential of concentrating into a cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours.
Wind speed is expected to pick up pace and people across the coastal city may witness squally wind with the speed of 50-60 kmph increasing to 80 kmph, the report adds.
Speaking to The News Minute, an IMD official said that Tamil Nadu is expected to have heavy rainfall from December 1, ranging from 6-12 cm rainfall.
Chennai is also likely to receive rainfall from December 1.
Fishermen have been asked not to venture out into the sea.
Weather bloggers and others have asked people in Chennai city not to panic. On December 1, 2015, Chennai received more than 35cms rainfall. The rains which lashed the city during that period caused one of the worst natural disasters the city has ever seen.
Flood-preparedness has been a major concern for the city and state administration ever since.
Following IMD's cyclone alert, the state government has instructed all district collectors to take all precautionary measures and necessary action including evacuating people from low lying and vulnerable areas to the relief centres.
The TN government has also advised the general public to listen to the latest updates from IMD and to move to relief centres as and when advised by the district collector. Public may contact 1070 / 1077 (toll free Nos. for help) in emergency situations.
Two teams of NDRF and one team of SDRF are being positioned in Cuddalore, and one team each in Nagapattinam and Chennai as a precautionary measure.
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