Cyclone Burevi to cross Pamban soon; alert in TN, Kerala
The cyclonic storm named Burevi in the Bay of Bengal is expected to reach Pamban island off the Tamil Nadu coast soon, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The storm has led authorities to sound alerts in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Cyclone Burevi had made landfall in Sri Lanka on Wednesday night, where the damage has been minimal, officials said.
In its bulletin at 4 pm on Thursday, the IMD had said that Cyclone Burevi would move across Pamban in three hours. Thereafter, it would move west-southwestwards, crossing the TN coast between Pamban and Kanyakumari on Thursday night or early Friday as a cyclonic storm. At 2:30 pm, the storm lay centered close to Pamban, about 70 km west-northwest of Mannar.
According to the IMD, after making landfall, Cyclone Burevi—packing winds with speeds reaching 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph—would continue over Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi districts and gradually over Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts of south TN and adjoining districts of south Kerala till early Friday.
Parts of south TN—Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Theni, Madurai, and Sivagangai districts—along with south Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, and Alappuzha will witness heavy to very heavy rainfall on Thursday, the IMD said. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall will continue on Friday. North TN, north Kerala, Puducherry, Mahe, Karaikal, south coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Lakshadweep are also likely to witness rainfall.
The IMD also warned of gale winds off the south TN coast over the next 24 hours. Strong winds will also prevail along and off the south Kerala coast. Squally wind speeds are likely over the Lakshadweep-Maldives area. A storm surge of about 1-meter height above astronomical tide is very likely to inundate low-lying areas of south coastal TN as Cyclone Burevi makes landfall.
The IMD has issued a red alert in TN and Kerala for Thursday. Home Minister Amit Shan assured CMs of the two states all possible help. Kerala's Health Department sounded an alert and said all precautionary measures were taken to meet any emergency situation. Puducherry declared Thursday a holiday for all government and private schools. There's a total suspension of fishing operation till Saturday.
