(Image source from: Newindianexpress.com)
With Cyclone Ditwah moving closer to the northern coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, officials have increased preparations in several areas, including organizing large relief efforts, canceling flights, and announcing school and college holidays across districts. The cyclone, currently moving over coastal Sri Lanka and the nearby southwest Bay of Bengal, is becoming stronger, leading to an orange alert in many areas. So far, Cyclone Ditwah has caused heavy rains and floods that have resulted in 123 deaths in Sri Lanka, with another 130 people still unaccounted for, according to the Disaster Management Centre on Saturday. Director General Sampath Kotuwegoda mentioned that relief measures are in motion, with 43,995 individuals moved to government-run shelter centers after their homes were damaged during the heavy rains that lasted for a week.
Cyclone Ditwah, located over the southwest Bay of Bengal and northwest of northern Sri Lanka, has been traveling to the north-northwest at 8 km per hour for the last six hours. As of 8:30 AM on Saturday, it was approximately 280 km to the south-southeast of Puducherry and 380 km south of Chennai. The cyclone is expected to keep heading north-northwest and could reach the southwest Bay of Bengal near the coasts of North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and southern Andhra Pradesh early Sunday morning. While progressing in this direction, the storm will be at minimum distances of 60 km, 50 km, and 25 km from the Tamil Nadu shoreline by midnight tonight, early tomorrow morning, and tomorrow evening respectively. Presently, wind speeds along the coast are between 50-60 km per hour, with gusts reaching 70 km per hour. Winds are predicted to become much stronger, potentially reaching gale-force speeds of 70-80 km per hour (with gusts up to 90 km per hour) from Saturday morning until Sunday morning. Eventually, conditions will improve, leading to winds returning to 50-60 km per hour by December 1. The sea is currently very rough and is expected to become even more tumultuous until Sunday.
Chennai Airport officials have canceled 54 flights due to the cyclone's arrival and the Indian Meteorological Department's prediction of heavy rains and strong winds in the coming 48 hours. The canceled services include ATR-type regional flights planned between Saturday morning and night. This affects flights to places like Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Thoothukudi, Salem, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Jaffna. Both departures and arrivals have been halted, and airlines are advising passengers to refrain from last-minute travels to the airport. According to airport officials, this decision was made after evaluating the dangers posed by strong winds and heavy rain. Train services from Chennai, Kanyakumari, and Madurai heading to Rameswaram have been stopped at Mandapam, where government buses are set up to transport travelers to the island. Also, services starting from Rameswaram will function from Mandapam until weather conditions improve.
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has alerted several areas about heavy to very heavy rain as Cyclone Ditwah grows stronger. Official notices indicate that today, schools and colleges are closed in Perambalur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore, Kallakurichi, Pudukottai, Puducherry, and Karaikal. In Villupuram, Thanjavur, and Tiruchi, only schools are closed, while colleges will remain open unless new announcements are made.
Pondicherry Central University has shared that all exams planned for Saturday are postponed, and all classes have been canceled due to Cyclone Ditwah. A statement from the University's Registrar on Friday night mentioned that the decision to delay exams and cancel classes was made after receiving information from the Coast Guard about the cyclone and the expected heavy rain.
Fishermen have received strong warnings against going out to sea because of rough waters and high winds along the coastline. Fishermen from the coastal regions of Thanjavur have safely moored their boats in response to Cyclone Ditwah. Approximately 1,500 operators of mechanical boats and more than 2,000 fishermen using country boats have secured their boats along the coast. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also spoke with the District Collectors from 14 districts about safety measures due to Cyclone Ditwah on Friday.
