Chennai, surrounding districts to witness downpour from Thursday

CHENNAI: State Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management KKSSR Ramachandran on Tuesday said that Chennai and its surrounding districts of Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu will start witnessing very heavy rain from Thursday.

Minister, in a press communique, said that due to the formation of a depression system districts bordering east coast such as Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Pudukottai will receive very heavy rainfall from Wednesday. However, Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Mayiladuthurai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts will start receiving downpour from Thursday. Ranipet, Vellore, Tirupattur, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchirappalli, Pudukottai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts will receive heavy rainfall on Thursday.

Downpour will continue on Friday in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai, Tirupattur, Vellore, Ranipet, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Salem districts. Moderate to heavy rainfall will be witnessed in Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Tiruchirappalli, Namakkal, Karur and Erode districts.

The Minister also said that the northeast monsoon season started on October 29 and the total rainfall received from October 1 to December 5 is 366.2 mm rainfall which is 3 percent lower when compared to the average rainfall received in the same period. However, the Indian Meteorological department has alerted that a low pressure depression has formed in Andaman sea and the depression will move north-northwest towards the northern coast of Tamil Nadu and will form into a cyclone on Thursday resulting in very heavy rainfall.

Detailing the precautionary steps taken for the upcoming cyclone, the Minister said that 169 relief camps and 805 water pumping motors are kept ready in Chennai apart from 121 cyclone protection centres and 5,093 relief camps across the State. The district Collectors were instructed to rescue the people residing in low-lying areas and to shift them to relief camps and to make sure that all the essential items are kept ready in the camps.

All the 592 fishing boats ventured into the sea are safe and in 93 boats equipment such as VHF, Sat phones, Navtex, Navic and so on are available.