Ports hoist warning signal No 1, fishermen told to keep off sea

The formation of a depression was confirmed in the afternoon by the Indian Meteorological Department. The well-marked low-pressure area in the East Equatorial Indian Ocean and adjoining South-East Bay of Bengal has concentrated into the depression on Friday morning. The fishers have been advised to not to venture into the sea. Thousands of boats from Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Pudukkottai districts stayed on the shore. However, some of the fishers in many villages had gone to sea on Friday early morning as the Port Office did not hoist the storm cage on Thursday for Cyclone Fani. 

The storm cage with signal number 1 indicating ‘distant cautionary’ signal about the low-pressure area was eventually hoisted on Friday afternoon. But the low-pressure area had already turned worse into a depression by that time on Friday. The fishers alleged that the district administration is not updating about the severity on time and is slower to react to the changes in weather which happened to be the reason the information was not properly conveyed on Friday morning.

The waves became more violent from across the region. All the fishermen on the shore have been asked to stay put until the cyclone has a land fall. The Fisheries Department said all those who had gone to the sea without being aware of the storm warning would be back by Friday night as the information was passed on to them.