Cyclone Ditwah: NDRF teams reach Tamil Nadu, Puducherry amid heavy rains

Cyclone Ditwah is expected to reach the southwest Bay of Bengal near north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and the nearby south Andhra Pradesh coasts by early morning on November 30

The government has deployed National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams across several districts in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to carry out relief measures amid heavy rainfall in the states ahead of Cyclone Ditwah, according to a report from news agency PTI.

 

At least eight NDRF teams, each consisting of 30 personnel, were deployed following requests from the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry State Disaster Management Authorities. Puducherry is set to receive two teams (60 personnel), while Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Pudukkottai, Cuddalore, and Tiruvarur will each have one team stationed for precautionary operations. A Search Dog Unit of four trained sniffer dogs has also been deployed. 

 

Where is Cyclone Ditwah currently?

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), cyclonic storm Ditwah lies currently over coastal Sri Lanka and the nearby southwest Bay of Bengal, and moved towards the north-northwest at a speed of 7 kmph in the last 6 hours.

 

At 5:30 am IST on Friday, it was located 50 km south-southwest of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), 90 km northwest of Batticaloa (Sri Lanka), 230 km north of Hambantota (Sri Lanka), 440 km south-southeast of Puducherry (India), and 540 km south of Chennai (India).

Cyclone Ditwah to reach near Tamil Nadu on Nov 30

It is expected to reach the southwest Bay of Bengal near North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and the nearby south Andhra Pradesh coasts by early morning on November 30.

 

Earlier today, the IMD issued an orange alert for north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and the adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coast.

 

The weather department on Wednesday said, "Thunderstorm with lightning very likely over Tamil Nadu during November 26-30, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam and Rayalaseema on November 29-30 and over Andaman & Nicobar Islands with gusty wind speeds reaching 40-50 kmph on November 29 and 50-60 kmph during November 26-28."

Rough sea conditions ahead

The IMD also warned of very rough to high sea conditions in parts of the south Andaman Sea, southwest and southeast Bay of Bengal, and the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Sri Lanka, and Andhra Pradesh. Sea conditions will be risky from November 26-30, depending on the region, the IMD warned.

Fishermen warned to stay away from sea

In its release, the weather department had advised complete suspension of fishing near Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Nicobar Islands and the south Andaman Sea till November 28.