Heavy rainfall is predicted over several parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh as cyclone Mandous over the Bay of Bengal is expected to cross the coast between Puducherry and Sriharikota in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on the midnight of December 9, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday, December 8. The well-marked low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression on December 6 and it further intensified into a "deep depression" and lay about 750 km off Chennai as of Wednesday.
In its bulletin issued on Thursday, the IMD said the cyclonic storm Mandous (pronounced as 'Man-dous') was over the southwest Bay of Bengal about 500 km off east-southeast of Karaikal. "It is expected to move west-northwest and cross north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining South Andhra Pradesh coast between Puducherry and Sriharikota with a wind speed of 70 km per hour around midnight of December 9," an IMD bulletin said. Puducherry is about 160 km from Chennai.
In Tamil Nadu, a red warning has been issued for three districts – Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, and Villupuram – for December 9, Friday, and also for Puducherry. As of Thursday morning, the cyclonic storm Mandous lay over the Bay of Bengal about 500 km east-southeast of Karaikal and would cross the north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coast between Puducherry and Sriharikota around Friday midnight.
For December 8, the IMD issued an orange warning for Cuddalore, Myladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, and Pudukottai districts in Tamil Nadu, and Karaikal in Puducherry. On December 9, an orange warning has been issued for Tirupathur, Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruvallur, Chennai, Tiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi and Cuddalore. For December 10, an orange warning has been issued for Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Tirupathur, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Ranipet, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur and Chennai.
With PTI inputs