Cyclone Ditwah leaves three dead, hundreds affected in Tamil Nadu

Three people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Tamil Nadu as cyclone Ditwah sweeps past the western Indian coast.“The minimum distance of the centre of the cyclone from north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts is about 80 km. It is very likely to move nearly northwards parallel to North Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts and weaken into a deep depression during the next 3 hours.” the bulletin issued by the Met office said on Sunday evening.

The cyclone is moving at a speed of 5 kmph and it is expected to be with in a minimum distance of 30 km from the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coastline by midnight of Sunday, November 30, it said. It is expected to weaken by Sunday midnight.

The districts of South Coastal Andhra Pradesh witnessed very heavy rainfall accompanied with light thunderstorm, lightning, gusty winds speed reaching 30-40 kmph due to the impact of Ditwah. Earlier, sharp showers triggered by the Cyclone continued to lash several parts of Tamil Nadu. With heavy rainfall pounding Cauvery delta districts in the State, Ramanathapuram and Nagapattinam districts bore the brunt.Normal life continued to be affected in the coastal towns of Rameswaram and Nagapattinam as heavy rainfall inundated several low-lying areas.

The State Government has kept 38 disaster response teams, including SDRF and NDRF on standby with 10 more teams from other States joined in the relief and rehabilitation work on Saturday evening, State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran said. As many as 149 livestock died and 57,000 hectares of farmland have been affected in the delta districts, he added.