Cyclone Ditwah triggered widespread rain across coastal Tamil Nadu and the Cauvery delta districts on Saturday, with Ramanathapuram and Nagapattinam among the worst affected.
Normal life in Rameswaram and Nagapattinam was disrupted by continuous rain and gusty winds, while the sea turned turbulent along the coast.
According to the latest bulletin from the India Meteorological Department, Cyclone Ditwah lay centred over the Vedaranyam coast in Nagapattinam district.
Choppy waves damaged a few mechanised fishing boats anchored near Mandapam and sea erosion breached portions of nearby roads.
The cyclone was centred 110 km southeast of Vedaranyam, 150 km southeast of Karaikal, 250 km south-southeast of Puducherry, and 350 km south of Chennai. It is likely to move north-northwest and approach the North Tamil Nadu–Puducherry–South Andhra Pradesh coasts by early November 30.
“It will come within 60 km tonight, 50 km on the morning of November 30, and 25 km on the evening of November 30 along the Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coast,” the bulletin said.
State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister K K S S R Ramachandran said 28 disaster response teams, including SDRF and NDRF units, were on standby.
The minister said it was not yet clear if the cyclone would hit the coast near Chennai, but the state government is fully prepared to launch rescue and relief operations on a war footing.
“About 28 disaster response teams, including 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. Additionally, monitoring teams will be sent to the districts tomorrow,” the minister said.
There have been no fatalities so far, but 16 livestock have died, and 24 huts have been damaged. “There has been no major impact due to the rain so far. However, the state government is continuously monitoring the situation and has readied teams for rescue and relief operations,” he added.
There have been no fatalities so far, although 16 livestock have died and 24 huts have been damaged.
The minister said there had been no major impact due to the rain so far and that the government was continuously monitoring the situation.
About 6,000 relief camps have been established in the affected districts. Reports from the weather office suggest the cyclone may pass parallel to the Chennai coast, bringing heavy rain, and the public has been urged to follow Chief Minister M K Stalin’s safety instructions.
B Amudha, Director of the Regional Meteorological Centre, said heavy to very heavy rain was likely at several places, with extremely heavy rain at one or two locations in Tiruvallur and Ranipet districts.
She said heavy to very heavy rain was also likely in Kancheepuram, Chennai, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Tirupattur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram districts.
“A red alert has been issued for Tiruvallur and Ranipet districts tomorrow due to the possibility of heavy rain. In Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, winds will blow up to 40–60 km/h,” she told reporters.
An official said 14 NDRF teams had already been deployed in vulnerable districts including Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Mayiladuthurai.
Additional teams have been allocated to Puducherry and Chennai. Fishermen stayed away from the sea for the second consecutive day due to rough conditions.
Several delta districts including Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai, Pudukottai, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Tiruchirappalli and Karaikal in neighbouring Puducherry received heavy rain with strong winds.
Farmers reported that paddy crops over about one lakh acres and other crops were submerged in water.
In Chennai, surplus water from the Chembarambakkam and Poondi reservoirs was being released into the sea as a precaution to safeguard the dams, according to an official of the Water Resources Department.
Chennai airport authorities said around 54 flights to various districts were cancelled due to the cyclone.
In a post on X, the airport said precautionary measures were being taken following the IMD warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall with wind speeds of 10 to 15 knots and gusts up to 25 knots from the north easterly direction.
Southern Railway announced changes to train services due to the weather.
“The wind velocity at Pamban Bridge has receded and is now within prescribed limits. Hence, train traffic to Rameswaram will resume soon,” a release said.
Earlier in the day, a tourist van was stranded near a canal in Ramanathapuram district and the occupants escaped safely through the rear door.
Tourists have been asked to avoid visiting Dhanushkodi on Pamban Island as a precaution. The town was destroyed in the 1964 Rameswaram cyclone.
Private weather bloggers said the cyclone’s track remained unchanged, continuing parallel to the Tamil Nadu coast and bringing more rain over Chennai, Cuddalore and Puducherry on Saturday night.
The name Ditwah, which refers to a lagoon, was suggested by Yemen and likely comes from Detwah Lagoon, a large saline waterbody on the northwest coast of Socotra.