Cyclone Ditwah: Heavy rains lash Tamil Nadu; flight, train services disrupted

Heavy rainfall lashed parts of Tamil Nadu on Saturday, with Cyclone Ditwah inching towards the southern state. 

The Ramanathapuram and Nagapattinam districts have been most affected places, where normal life was severely hit due to Cyclone Ditwah and the heavy rains triggered by it. 

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Ditwah will make a landfall on Sunday. Though it is still unclear whether it will make a landfall near Chennai, the state government has said it is completely ready to deal with any situation.  

“The Cyclonic Storm Ditwah over coastal Sri Lanka and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal moved north-northwestwards with the speed of 8 kmph during past 6 hours and lay centered at 5.30 am today over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Sri Lanka,” the IMD said.

NDRF, SDRF teams deployed; Air Force, Coast Guard on alert

Speaking to reporters, Tamil Nadu Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran said no fatality has been reported in the state yet, while adding that 28 disaster response teams, including those of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), are on standby. He said the Indian Air Force (IAF) and India Coast Guard are also monitoring the situation. 

“There has been no major impact due to the rain so far,” Ramachandran was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. “However, the state government is continuously monitoring the situation and has readied teams for rescue and relief operations.”

According to an official, the NDRF has deployed 14 of its teams in Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Mayiladuthurai and Chennai. It has also deployed an additional team in the union territory of Puducherry, where a red alert has been issued due to Cyclone Ditwah.

The administration has also asked fishermen to avoid venturing into the sea until the weather improves. 

Air, rail services affected

The heavy rains triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have affected the air services in Tamil Nadu, with the Chennai airport saying 54 flights have been cancelled in the state so far. “With the IMD warning that Cyclone Ditwah would cause heavy to very heavy rainfall today with wind velocity of 10-15 knots, gusting up to 25 knots, from the north-easterly direction, the Chennai Airport is taking all precautionary measures,” it posted on X. 

Many airlines, including the Air India, have said the cyclone may impact their flights operating to and from Chennai and some other cities in Tamil Nadu.

Cyclone Ditwah has also affected rail services in the southern state, with the Southern Railway announcing some changes in the schedule of its trains. “The wind velocity at Pamban Bridge has receded and was now within the prescribed threshold limit. Hence, the resumption of train traffic to Rameswaram will be announced soon,” it said in a release.  

Over 120 killed in Sri Lanka

More than 120 people have lost their lives in Sri Lanka due to Cyclone Ditwah, forcing the government there to declare a state of emergency throughout the island nation. Looking at the situation, India has come to the rescue of Sri Lanka and has launched ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’ to provide assistance to it. As part of the operation, India dispatched a C-130J aircraft with 12 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Colombo on Saturday.

Source: India TV
--Agencies