Tamil Nadu braces for heavy rains; red alert issued in 8 districts; schools closed
A woman walks with an umbrella on a road during heavy rainfall, in Chennai | PTI
Tamil Nadu is bracing for heavy rains for the next two days as the weather system over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a deep depression. Several district administrations have declared a holiday for schools and other educational institutions on Wednesday as a precautionary measure.
All Schools and colleges will remain shut in Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Thanjavur, Kallakurichi, Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore, and Thiruvallur, while in Chennai, the closure order applies only to schools.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert in eight districts and an orange alert for ten, including Chennai. It warned that the weather system, formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal, is expected to further strengthen within the next 24 hours.
The system is likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a depression over the southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal off north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coasts by Wednesday afternoon, the IMD said in a release.
“Thereafter, it is likely to continue to move west-northwestwards towards north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts and intensify further during the subsequent 24 hours,” it said.
The districts which were placed under red alert included Villupuram, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvallur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram.
Apart from Chennai, the orange alert has been sounded for Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Kallakurichi, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari, according to the IMD bulletin.
A red alert indicates extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rain of 11 cm to 20 cm.
B. Amudha, Director of the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, has issued an advisory for fishermen against venturing into the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and South Andaman Sea from October 23 to October 26, as squally winds reaching speeds of 45-55km/h gusting up to 65km/h, are expected.
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