Cyclone Nada Weakens, Coastal Tamil Nadu Receives Heavy Rain

Chennai: Cyclone Nada weakened into a depression in the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in Puducherry's Karaikal, close to Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, at about 5 AM on Friday morning. It hit the coast with a wind speed of 50 km per hour. No damage has been reported so far, but Nada has brought with it heavy rain in the coastal areas of the two states. The weather office said Tamil Nadu capital Chennai will receive light rain today.

A Met department official said, "A large chunk of the depression has crossed coast early morning. However, over 25 per cent of the system is yet to make landfall which will happen soon."

There has been about 4 cm of rain in Puducherry and in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore and Nagapattinam. Top officials said the situation is being monitored continuously. Light to moderate rainfall is forecast at many other places in Tamil Nadu and some parts of Kerala till Saturday.

There are also squally winds in parts of Tamil Nadu, the weather office said.

Schools are closed today in Chennai, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore and in Puducherry.

Puducherry and coastal Tamil Nadu had been on alert since earlier this week as the cyclonic storm had built up in the Bay of Bengal and teams of the National Disaster Response Force or NDRF had been posted in Cuddalore, where landfall was expected.

NDRF teams have now reached Karaikal. "We've also got ready many schools as temporary relief centres," said a senior officer.

The Navy had also "assumed a high degree of readiness," with two naval ships, the Shakti and Satpura put on standby with divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats, helicopters and relief material, a Navy statement had said.

The The sea is expected to be rough till tonight and fishermen have been advised not to venture out.