Ditwah: State braces for heavy rain; government machinery gears up

CHENNAI: Cyclonic Storm Ditwah, which remained positioned along the Sri Lanka coast on Friday, is expected to move into the southwest Bay of Bengal before approaching the north Tamil Nadu–Puducherry–south Andhra Pradesh coasts by early November 30, forecast the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The system had moved slowly northwards and lay centred about 510 km south-southeast of Chennai, 410 km south-southeast of Puducherry, and 300 km south-southeast of Karaikal.

On Saturday, heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy rainfall is likely at one or two places over Chengalpattu, Cuddalore, Villupuram, and Mayiladuthurai districts, and Puducherry. Meanwhile, heavy to very heavy rain is likely in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, and several other districts in northern and western parts of the State.

Strong surface winds reaching 70–80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph are likely over the delta region and adjoining coastal districts, Puducherry and Karaikal.

Local Warning Signal No 4 has been hoisted at Pamban, Thoothukudi, Nagapattinam, and Karaikal ports, while Warning Signal No 2 is in place for Chennai, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Ennore, Kattupalli and Puducherry ports. (The higher the signal number, the more intense the effect is feared to be.)

Meanwhile, Chief Minister MK Stalin inspected the State Emergency Operations Centre at Ezhilagam in Chennai and reviewed the preparedness measures taken by various departments, and said the government machinery was fully equipped to deal with the situation.

The Chief Minister also held virtual discussions with the Collectors of 14 districts, and instructed officials to bring in additional National Disaster Response Force teams from neighbouring states to manage the cyclone effectively. The Defence, Air Force and Coast Guard have also been asked to be prepared for relief and rehabilitation work, if required.