Cyclone 'Gaja' to make landfall by tomorrow evening

The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast that cyclone 'Gaja' will make landfall by tomorrow evening. The report said that “Gaja” now lies about 540 km East of Chennai and 640 km Northeast of Nagapattinam over Westcentral and adjoining Eastcentral & South Bay of Bengal.

"Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Karaikal, Thoothukudi and Tiruvarur districts will receive heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places. Also, winds will be blowing at a speed of 80-100 kmph in these districts on November 15," said S Balachandran, the Deputy Director General of Meteorology.

As many as 12 teams of State and National Disaster Response Force teams have been deployed in four coastal districts, including Cuddalore and Nagapattinam, Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management R B Udhayakumar told DT Next on Tuesday. 

Considering threat of the cyclone, Cuddalore district collector Anbu Sevan has announced the closure of schools and colleges on 15 November.