Chennai: A depression over Bay of Bengal bypassed Chennai and moved towards Bangladesh on Wednesday, triggering heavy rainfall in parts of Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
The Met Department had issued a cyclone alert for north Tamil Nadu and south coastal Andhra Pradesh, predicting heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours.
Heavy rainfall will continue in Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry during the next 24 hours, the weather department had said in a release.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) earlier said that a depression over southwest Bay of Bengal will move 90 km east of Chennai and 70 km of the coast in few hours.
It is expected to move north-northeastwards and intensify into a deep depression and further into a cyclonic storm over the next 48 hours.
Rainfall is also predicted over south coastal and interior Tamil Nadu durning the next 24 hours.
Similarly, heavy rainfall is predicted over south Andhra Pradesh coast during the next 48 hours.
According to the IMD, wind speed reaching 55-65 km per hour gusting to 75 km per hour would prevail along and off north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during the next 24 hours and south Andhra Pradesh coast during next 48 hours.
Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea as sea condition will be very rough during the next 48 hours.
Meanwhile the Tamil Nadu government has deputed senior officers to areas that may experience heavy rainfall to oversee precautionary measures.
In view of the cyclone warning, four National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have arrived in Chennai with 24 boats.
The Tamil Nadu capital had suffered damages and witnessed flooding in its worst rainfall in 100 years last November.
In Chennai, sewage lines have started overflowing in many areas due to the intermittent rains putting the residents into difficulty.
