Cyclone Ditwah to Hit Tamil Nadu November 30; Red Alerts, Travel Disruptions Ahead

Cyclone Ditwah is progressing towards the north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts, prompting authorities to tighten safety measures across the region. According to Hindustan Times, precautionary measures have already started taking place including large-scale relief deployment, flight cancellations and holiday declarations for educational institutions.

Cyclone Ditwah is expected to make landfall on the early morning of November 30 in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh coasts. T

he India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its latest update stated that the cyclonic storm has moved north-northwestwards with the speed of 7 kmph during past 6 hours and lay centered at 11.30 pm on November 28 over the same region, “near latitude 9.0°N andlongitude 80.8°E, about 70 km northwest of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), 170 km northwest of Batticaloa (Sri Lanka), 240km south-southeast of Karaikal (India), 350 km south-southeast of Puducherry(India) and 450 km south of Chennai (India)."

Flights Cancelled Amid Ditwah

According to PTI, Chennai Airport has cancelled 54 scheduled flights considering the approaching cyclone. The IMD has forecast extremely heavy rain and strong winds for the next two days, prompting the airport to suspend several services.

According to The New Indian Express, about 300 passengers, including around 150 Tamilians travelling from Dubai to India via Sri Lanka, have been stranded at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport for the last three days after Cyclone Ditwah forced the cancellation of multiple flights to Chennai.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin instructed the Public Department Secretary to work with the Indian Embassy in Colombo to assist those stranded over there.

Since then, officials have met with representatives of the Indian High Commission to guarantee the safe return of Tamils who are stranded in Sri Lanka. In addition, the government has requested prompt assistance for travellers who are experiencing difficulties at the airport.

Cyclone Warning Colour Codes

The IMD uses a colour-coding system for cyclones that is categorised by green signifying ‘no warning’, yellow to indicate ‘be aware’, orange to ‘be prepared’ and red to signalling ‘take action’.

From typical weather to extremely severe weather that necessitates an immediate evacuation, each colour represents a different degree of risk and urgency.