Chennai, Dec 1 A Red Alert has been issued for Chennai and Tiruvallur districts as the weakened remnant of Cyclone Ditwah continues to hover dangerously close to the Tamil Nadu coast.
The Chennai Meteorological Centre announced that the system, which was a cyclonic storm over the southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coast on November 30, has now weakened into a deep depression but remains active in the same region.
According to the IMD, the deep depression is drifting slowly northward.
At that time, the system lay approximately 50 km east-southeast of Chennai, 130 km northeast of Puducherry, 150 km northeast of Cuddalore, and nearly 200 km south-southeast of Nellore.
The closest distance between the centre of the depression and the north Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coast was only 40 km, raising the risk of heavy rainbands moving inland.
The IMD said the system is expected to continue moving northward parallel to the coast over the next 12 hours, likely weakening further into a depression while remaining over the southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal.
During this period, the nearest distance from Chennai could narrow to just 30 km. Such proximity, coupled with the system’s slow movement, is expected to produce intense rainfall over the northern coastal districts.
With Chennai receiving continuous heavy rainfall since early morning and the system staying alarmingly close, the Met Department upgraded its warning from Orange to Red Alert for Chennai and Tiruvallur, indicating the possibility of extremely heavy rainfall of more than 20 cm at isolated locations.
The districts of Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, and Ranipet have also been placed under a heavy rainfall alert, with the likelihood of thunderstorms and lightning in several parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal.
Authorities have urged the public to remain indoors, avoid unnecessary travel, and adhere to official advisories. Disaster response teams have been placed on standby as the city continues to battle intense showers, flooding in low-lying areas, and traffic disruptions caused by the persistent downpour.
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