Cyclonic Storm ‘Burevi ’ reaches Gulf of Mannar near Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu; all arrangements in place to minimise effect

The Cyclonic Storm ‘Burevi ’ has emerged in the Gulf of Mannar near Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu this morning, as it has completed its first landfall near Trincomalee in Sri Lanka late last night. According to weather bulletin issued by the MET Department, cyclone was moving north westwards with the speed of 11 km an hour for the past six hours. It would be centred very close to Pamban near Rameswaram by noon. Later, it will cross the southern Tamil Nadu coast between Kanyakumari and Pamban between tonight and early in the morning tomorrow as a Cyclonic Storm.

When observed last, the Cyclone ‘Burevi‘ was laying centered at about 30 km east-north-east of Mannar, 110 km east-southeast of Pamban and 310 km east-northeast of Kanyakumari.

Heavy to very heavy rain is predicted at many places in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu today, with the possibility of extremely very heavy rain at isolated places.

The MET Department has said the cyclone will gain the wind speed of 70-80 km per hour, gusting to 90 km per hour, while having its landfall. Its impact over the southern coastal districts of Tamil Nadu is believed to have commenced this morning in Ramanathapuram, and it is set to gradually cover up to Kanyakumari district.

As the sea would be very rough, all fishing operations in the region remain suspended. Under the impact of the cyclonic storm, several places in southern Tamil Nadu witnessed intermittent rain since last night. Some places including Chennai experienced light to moderate rain. news agency correspondent reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy yesterday and inquired about the cyclone situation in the state. He assured all help from the Centre to the state.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also called him up this morning and has assured all help to the state in tiding over any situation that may arise out of the cyclone. Meanwhile, 979 of the total 7605 lakes in the ten southern districts in Tamil Nadu have reached their full reservoir level. The lakes are being kept under watch by the authorities to manage the water flow so that the inundations of nearby villages are avoided.

Nine NDRF teams are camping in the southern region and their state counterpart, the SDRF has also deployed its teams. The revenue, police, fire and rescue and health officials are ed to respond to any need anywhere anytime in the region. Various control rooms are being made operational 24-by-7.

News agency correspondent reports that Kerala is on high as cyclone Burevi nears. Cyclone is expected to hit the southern part of Kerala tomorrow. Red is issued in 4 districts today. Met dept predicts heavy rain and strong winds in southern districts from today evening.Necessary arrangements are being taken in the respective districts by authorities along with navy, coast guard, air force and disaster response teams. Relief camps and 24 x7 control rooms are opened. 8 teams of the National Disaster Response Force had reached Kerala. People are advised to be and to contact the State Control room 1077 in case of emergency. Fishing is completely banned in Kerala coast and those out in the sea are advised to reach the nearby coast at the earliest.