The cyclonic storm ‘Gaja’ lay 370 km southeast of Chennai and 370 km northeast of Nagapattinam and is likely to have landfall between Pamban and Cuddalore on Thursday night with wind speed of 80-90 gusting to 100 kmph, the Met office said.
With the Tamil Nadu government already declaring that 30,500 rescue personnel were on standby, the district collectors of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Pudukottai, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore and Ramanathapuram have declared holiday for schools and colleges on Thursday. Educational institutions in Puducherry and Karaikal regions are closed today in view of the cyclone.
Here are the live updates:
26,399 people have been evacuated and sent to 164 relief camps, say Tamil Nadu government officials.
14,445 people have been evacuated from Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Thiruvarur and Cuddalore districts. They have been sent to 94 relief centres: Tamil Nadu government
Coast Guard Remote Operating Stations request fisheries authorities in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to account for all fishing boats.
Around eight Indian Coast Guard ships and two Dornier aircraft were pressed into action since November 9 for issuance of advisories and warnings in local languages to fishermen at sea for their safe return to ports, the defence ministry said.
Salt makers in Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district say almost three lakh tonne salt worth Rs 21 crore would be destroyed if rainfall is more than 20 cm.
Around 30,500 relief personnel, including eight teams each of NDRF and SDRF, policemen and civic volunteers, have been deployed for rescuing people.
931 rescue vehicles and 400 ambulances kept ready in seven coastal districts, say officials.
The speed at which the cyclone is hurtling towards the coast comes down to 10 kmph, say IMD Chennai officials. As of now, the cyclone is about 140km northeast to Nagapattinam.
IMD Chennai officials say the outer edge of the cyclone has come close to the shores. They expect landfall in two hours.