Cyclone Ditwah is heading towards the Tamil Nadu coast and likely to bring heavy rains, forcing schools, colleges and other educational institutions to close.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that Ditwah, which is currently hovering close to Sri Lanka and the southwest Bay of Bengal, will likely intensify and move towards the Union Territory of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu’s coastal areas by early November 30.
Heavy rains have also been forecast in the southern and Cauvery delta districts of the state, between November 20 and 30.
As the state government reviewed its preparedness to face the second such extreme weather calamity in a month, schools declared holidays and the Pondicherry Central University announced that all exams scheduled to be held on Saturday have been postponed.
A release from the Registrar of the University on Friday night said that the postponement of examinations and also cancellation of classes were due to a communication received from the Coast Guard about the cyclone and the heavy rains.
Meanwhile, an Indian Air Force aircraft C130 carried emergency relief material early on Saturday morning as part of India’s ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’ for those displaced by unprecedented floods in Sri Lanka.
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The aircraft reached Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport airport at around 1.30 am, and was received by the Indian High Commission officials and Sri Lanka Air Force officers.
The first tranche of relief materials was handed over after the consignments were transported by the Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, and frontline ship, INS Udaigiri, to the island nation.
Sri Lanka is facing one of its worst disasters as cyclonic storm Ditwah wreaked havoc, causing floods and landslides that left a trail of destruction and nearly 100 people dead.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has so far confirmed 69 dead till 6 am on Saturday morning, while at least 34 people remained unaccounted for. More than 200,000 people from 61,000 families have been affected by the disaster, it said.
However, the Central Province’s Kandy relief officials said the death toll would be much higher as the toll in the Kandy district itself had reached more than 50 by late Friday night, while Badulla in the central hills is another district badly hit by landslides with many people missing and over 35 dead.
Cyclone Ditwah also caused spills in all major reservoirs and rivers with authorities warning people to evacuate.
The weather bureau said more rains over 200 mm were expected to fall although Ditwah may exit the island by late Saturday.
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