The Meteorological Department also predicted extremely heavy rainfall across both coastal and interior areas in the Southern States: Reprots
CHENNAI: Coastal and delta districts of Tamil Nadu received heavy rains, accompanied by strong winds, on Saturday as Cyclone Ditwah started moving in the north-northwesterly direction with the State government keeping a watch over the developments and stationing 28 disaster response teams in preparedness, besides issuing instructions to the district Collectors to provide necessary relief.
State Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management, K K S S R Ramacandran, was at the State Emergency Operations Centre at Chepauk all through the day from the morning, along with the top officials, and giving necessary instructions besides briefing Chief Minister M K Stalin about the developments.
With Cyclone Ditwah already wreaking havoc in some coastal districts in the delta region, the government had opened 13 relief camps and accommodated 1058 persons there, Ramachandran told the media, adding that the cyclone was likely to move towards Chennai and reach Andhra Pradesh.
The Chief Minister had urged the people not to step out of the home on Sunday, too, as heavy rains were expected in the coastal areas on Sunday, he said. The Meteorological Department also predicted extremely heavy rainfall across both coastal and interior areas in the Southern States.
Ramachandran said that the cyclone had not caused any loss of life or property in the State till late Saturday and that it could bring more rains in the Andhra Pradesh border with Tamil Nadu. The government was prepared to meet any situation and already 5 lakh bags, each containing 5 kg of rice, had been kept ready for distribution to the people.
The authorities were also shifting the disaster response teams from the NDRF and SDRF, now stationed in various places across the State, to regions more prone to flooding depending on the weather reports and ground situation. All agencies were on alert to respond to any situation.
Many reservoirs in and around Chennai had been opened since the rains intensified and a close watch was maintained on the flow through the canals to ensure that human habitations were not inundated because of that.
Police have also increased their vigil on the beaches, discouraging people from going close to the ocean. Already fishermen have been asked to keep off the sea due to the inclement weather conditions and now the police are on alert in the beaches.
At around 8.30 pm on Saturday, the cyclonic storm was centered about 110 km southeast of Vedaranyam, about 150 km from Karaikal, 250 km from Puducherry and 350 km south of Chennai. It was expected to move north-northwards and reach the coast by early Sunday.
