Met office withdraws extreme heavy rainfall warning

The extreme heavy rainfall warning issued by the Regional meteorological department for south Tamil Nadu has been withdrawn, Deputy Director General S Balachandran said Saturday.

The Met office had Thursday forecast extreme heavy rainfall till Sunday, following the formation of an upper-air circulation over Southwest Bay of Bengal adjoining Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

Talking to reporters here, Balachandran said the extreme heavy rainfall warning announced for the southern parts of the state was withdrawn since the upper-air circulation had "weakened".

However, he said, places like Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari might receive "heavy to very heavy rainfall", instead of extremely heavy rainfall, in the next 24-48 hours.

For Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Balachandran said, there might be moderate rainfall in the next 24-48 hours.

The fishermen in the Central and South East Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep and Kanyakumari areas were advised not to venture into the sea from October 6 to 8, he said.

There might be light showers in Chennai and its outskirts during the next 24-48 hours, Balachandran added.

Another report said the tourist places in the Kodaikanal hill station were closed as heavy rainfall lashed Dindigul district Saturday.

According to forest department officials, the "Pillar" rock, Guna Parai and other tourist spots were closed.

Meanwhile, 25 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived in Madurai Saturday following the heavy rainfall warning.

The entry of Pilgrims from Rameswaram into coastal Dhanushkodi was also barred, officials said.

According to Ramanathapuram district administration officials, 215 fishermen who had ventured into the sea for fishing had returned.