Chennai and many north coastal districts may get rain from Friday evening, as they are expected to come under the influence of the depression lying 550 km east-southeast of the city.
The Meteorological department expects the system to intensify into a deep depression and cross north Tamil Nadu coast by Saturday evening. Officials of the Meteorological department said that earlier the system was predicted to cross by Saturday morning. But it has remained stationary for over 10 hours, about 570 km east-northeast of Nagapattinam.
Y.E.A.Raj, Deputy Director-General of Meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said normally such systems would move at a speed of 10-12 km per hour, but, this system has been slow. “We will be able to forecast the volume of rainfall specifically only if it begins to move. We expect this system to benefit several rain-deficit districts between Nagapattinam and Cuddalore,” he said.
Chennai and other north coastal districts may begin to start experiencing inclement weather from Friday evening. Squally winds with a minimum speed of 55 km per hour would prevail along and off north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts, he added.
As the Meteorological department has predicted minor damage to ‘unstable’ structures, Chennai Collectorate convened a meeting on Thursday with various other departments to take precautionary steps. The department has warned fishermen not to venture into the sea on Friday. Helplines for residents to call in case of an emergency are: Chennai Corporation – 1913, Chennai Collectorate- 1077, TANGEDCO- 155333, Police-100 and Fire and Rescue Services department- 101,102.
