The deep depression over southwest Bay of Bengal has turned into a cyclonic storm and has been named Nilam. Nilam which is 550 km south-southeast of Chennai in the Bay of Bengal is likely to cross the coast between Nagapattinam and Nellore tomorrow.
The coastal districts Nagapattinam,Cuddalore, Tiruvallur,Tiruvarur, Chennai,Kanchipuram and Karaikal in Puducherry have been experiencing heavy rains since late last night. In Nagapattinam , more than 18 thousand hectares of samba crop has been affected due to the rains. 1500 dwelling units of Tsunami victims have been marooned till now. Three people have been reportedly killed in rain related accidents in this district.
District administration in rain affected areas of Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Rameswaram have been warned against severe cyclonic storm and winds reaching more than a speed of 90 kmph. Teams have been formed at village level to monitor the developments of the storm . Medical teams have been alerted to prevent epidemic and revenue officials are on patrol duty to tackle any situation and also to take remedial measures immediately Kollidam in Nagapattinam received the highest rainfall of upto 15 cms.
Chidambaram Annamalai Nagar in Cuddalore has registered 10 cms rainfall in 24 hours Electricity supply and normal routine life remain affected in many areas due to heavy rains and squally winds. Fishermen have not ventured into the seas for the second day today. Local Cautionary signal 3 has been kept hoisted at all the ports of Tamilnadu.
Meanwhile,Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre has lifted an evacuation order as the cyclone heading towards the island changed this morning and is now moving northward towards India. Thousands of people living within 500 metres from the coast were asked to move inland yesterday. With the lifting of the alert, people have started moving back into the low lying villages.
Meanwhile widespread torrential rains continue in various parts of the island, affecting normal life and causing damage to property and livelihood. Residents in the northern and eastern coastal belts have been cautioned and fishermen and naval community have been advised to refrain from maritime activities in the seas
