Cyclone Ditwah weakens into deep depression: Met Office

Chennai: Cyclone Ditwah got weakened into a deep depression and the weather system would be centred over southwest Bay of Bengal within a minimum distance of 20 km from the coasts of North Tamil Nadu and Puducherry by morning of December 1, the Regional Meteorological Centre said.

In an update, the weather office said the Cyclone Ditwah is located about 80 km east of Cuddalore, 130 km northeast of Karaikal, 90 km east southeast of Puducherry, 180 km northeast of Vedaranyam and 140 km southeast of Chennai.

"The minimum distance of the centre of the cyclone from north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts is about 80 km. It is very likely to move nearly northwards parallel to North Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts and weaken into a depression around morning of tomorrow (December 1)" the bulletin issued by the Met office late on Sunday night said.

"The cyclone is moving at a speed of 5 kmph and the system would be centred over southwest Bay of Bengal within a minimum distance of 40 km and 20 km from the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coastline by the morning of tomorrow, December 1", the bulletin said.

The system is being monitored by the Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs) at Karaikal and Chennai, it added.

Private weather bloggers said Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Chennai, Chengalpattu and Ranipet districts may have some rains as the cyclone moves closer to Chennai later at night.

"Some clouding is expected to come back at night to tomorrow morning. The cyclone may bring in some more rains before fizzling out in open sea," they said.

Earlier, sharp showers triggered by the Cyclone continued to lash several parts of Tamil Nadu, while three persons have been killed in rain-related deaths, the state government said.

With heavy rainfall pounding Cauvery delta districts in the state, Ramanathapuram and Nagapattinam districts bore the brunt. Normal life continued to be affected in the coastal towns of Rameswaram and Nagapattinam as heavy rainfall inundated several low-lying areas.

Due to the impact of the cyclone, the weather office predicted heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur at a few places over Tiruvallur, Ranipet, Kancheepuram, Chennai, Chengalpattu and Vellore districts during the next 24 hours. Heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Tirupathur, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram districts and Puducherry, it said.

Strong surface winds with speed reaching 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph is likely to prevail over the North Coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and south coastal Karaikal area.

Sea condition is likely to be high and it is very likely to improve gradually becoming very rough to rough, by morning of December 1 and gradually improve thereafter, the bulletin said.

Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea and those out at sea should avoid southwest Bay of Bengal, Gulf of Mannar, Comorin area and along and off Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, south Andhra Pradesh till December 1, it said.

The state government has kept 38 disaster response teams, including SDRF and NDRF on standby with 10 more teams from other states joined in the relief and rehabilitation work on Saturday evening, State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran said.

Three people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents caused by Cyclone Ditwah, he said. As many as 149 livestock died and 57,000 hectares of farmland have been affected in the delta districts, he added.

"Three people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents since last evening. While two persons died due to wall collapse in Tuticorin and Thanjavur, respectively, a 20-year-old youth died due to electrocution in Mayiladuthurai," Ramachandran told reporters at the State Emergency Operations Centre on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Southern Railway said it has stepped up strategic planning and comprehensive preparedness in mitigating the effects of Cyclone Ditwah.

Southern Railway, in a press release on Sunday said, it has activated a comprehensive cyclone preparedness mechanism to ensure the safety of passengers, railway staff and critical railway infrastructure in view of the cyclone related alerts issued by IMD and the likelihood of heavy rainfall and high-velocity winds across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry regions.

With experience gained from handling previous extreme weather events and major storms that impacted the Chennai region and coastal districts, Southern Railway said it has strengthened the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and is maintaining round-the-clock vigilance in Chennai, Madurai and Tiruchirappalli divisions that fall directly in the high impact zone of Tamil Nadu.

The name 'Ditwah' suggested by Yemen, refers to a lagoon and likely comes from Detwah Lagoon, a large saline lagoon on Socotra's northwest coast.