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Cyclone Ditwah headed towards Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra, Puducherry; IMD forecasts heavy rainfall till December 1
Ditwah is the third cyclonic storm to develop in the Indian Ocean basin during the post-monsoon season this year.
The projected track of cyclone Ditwah (Source: IMD)
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Thursday afternoon said that cyclone Ditwah had developed in the southwest Bay of Bengal.
This is the second consecutive day when a cyclone is developing in the north Indian Ocean basin. On Wednesday, cyclone Senyar had formed close to Indonesia, but this storm was short-lived. Ditwah is the third cyclonic storm to develop in this basin during the post-monsoon season this year.
In view of the approaching storm, the Met department has warned heavy to very heavy rainfall (64-204 mm in 24 hours) over northern Tamil Nadu till December 1, with extremely heavy spells (over 204 mm in 24 hours) likely on November 29 and 30.
Ditwah, the storm name proposed by Yemen, is heading towards the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts along India’s east coast. It is most likely to reach closest to the Indian mainland near north Tamil Nadu sometime during the early morning hours of Sunday, the IMD updated.
Since the morning hours of Thursday, the system moved north-northwestwards across the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Sri Lanka with a speed of 15 km/hr.
“Thereafter, it is very likely to continue to move north-northwestwards across the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Sri Lanka coast and head towards North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts during the subsequent 48 hours,” the IMD said on Thursday.
Its location as of 11.30 am on the day was 90 km south-southeast of Batticaloa in Sri Lanka and 700 km south-southeast of Chennai.
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Orange alert issued
An ‘orange’ alert has been issued for November 29 for the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, including Thiruvallur, Ranipettai, Thiruvannamalai, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Mayiladuthurai, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, and Thiruvarur. Southern coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh remain on ‘orange’ alert on November 30. These districts are Prakasam, SPSR Nellore, Anantapuramu, Annamayya, Tirupathi, and Chittor.
Kerala will receive widespread rainfall, and the state is on a ‘yellow’ alert till November 29.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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