TN on high alert as fresh system to intensify into depression in 24 hrs

A fresh low-pressure system is intensifying into a depression in the Bay of Bengal adjoining Sri Lanka, threatening to pound with heavy rains the already battered southern districts and the Cauvery delta region in the next few days, the MeT office said on Tuesday.

According to the MeT, this is the third successive system that has formed in the Bay within a few days and is very likely to move north north-westwards and turn into a depression in the next 48 hours. It is formed under the influence of the upper cyclonic circulation in the Comorin area and its neighbourhood.

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While yesterday’s depression over the Malacca Strait intensifying into a cyclonic storm is very unlikely as it is expected to weaken in the next 48 hours, the fresh system in the Bay and its promise of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next few days is keeping the Tamil Nadu government on high alert. At present, it lay centred over Southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas of South Sri Lanka and the Equatorial Indian Ocean.

The North East Monsoon has turned very active as heavy rains continue to lash Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts, where standing crops on vast tracts have been inundated and damaged. The State Government has deployed SDRF teams in these two districts as well as in Thoothukudi and Villupuram districts which also received heavy rains for emergency rescue and relief operations.

Following the MET forecast, the state government has directed the District Collectors of Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari, Ramanathapuram, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallu to ensure all preventive measures are put in place. Fishermen have been advised to stay off till November 28, as the sea would be rough and squally winds prevailing at a speed ranging up to 55 kmph in the Gulf of Mannar region and the Palk Strait.