The situation is escalating. Cyclone Ditwah—that name, suggested by Yemen, means lagoon—is currently sitting over coastal Sri Lanka and the adjoining Bay of Bengal. The reports out of Sri Lanka are devastating: at least 56 persons have been reported dead, with $21$ still missing. Deadly landslides, severe flooding, total disruption.
Now, the storm is tracking right towards the Indian coast.
The Threat: Ditwah Heads for Tamil Nadu
The cyclonic storm is expected to move across the Sri Lanka coast and reach the waters near the north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and south Andhra Pradesh coasts by the early morning of November 30 (Sunday).
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The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) is treating this as a serious threat. B. Amudha, the head of RMC, confirmed they have a Red Alert out for multiple districts. This is a massive weather event interacting with the remnants of another system, Cyclone Senyar.
Jotting down the immediate impact zones:
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Friday: Heavy to very heavy rain is hitting the southern, delta, and adjoining districts first. Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, and Pudukkottai are under a Red Alert. Extremely heavy rainfall is expected in isolated pockets—over $20\text{cm}$ in $24$ hours.
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Saturday (The Peak): The intense downpour shifts to cover north Tamil Nadu. The Red Alert extends to six coastal districts including Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore, Villuppuram, and Chengalpattu, plus Puducherry and Karaikal. This is where the storm is closest. Chennai, Tiruvallur, and Vellore are under an Orange Alert, indicating very heavy rain.
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Sunday: The impact continues over north Tamil Nadu. Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, and Ranipet are forecast to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall.
Coastal communities are advised to stay away from the sea. Strong surface winds—speeds reaching $40–50\text{kmph}$—are likely over coastal Tamil Nadu. Disaster management teams, police, and fire rescue are mobilized across the state.
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Here’s an observation: the State’s seasonal rainfall is $2\%$ above normal already. This approaching cyclone is expected to end the month with normal or even excess rainfall, which should help districts like Chennai and Chengalpattu make up their deficits. But the concern is the sheer intensity of the rain over a short period. Flooding is inevitable. The shutters of Chennai’s reservoirs were already reopened as a precaution to create flood buffer space.
The situation is ongoing. The RMC will get more clarity on the precise path and potential landfall as the storm closes in.
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End….
