South Andhra Pardesh on alert as cyclone 'Thane' threatens coast

The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) categorised cyclonic storm ‘Thane’ over southwest Bay of Bengal as very severe and issued a warning for north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast.

Cyclonic storm Thane is moving west-southwestward and lay centered at 0530 hrs IST Thursday morning about 300 km east-southeast of Chennai. The system is likely to move westwards and cross north Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Chennai, close to Puducherry by tomorrow morning.

However, the storm is expected to weaken as it moves closer to the coast.

Squally winds speed reaching 45-55 kmph likely to commence along and off north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts from today. The wind speed is expected to increase to 100-110 kmph at the time of landfall

The storm is also expected to cause rain all along the coast.

Adding to the concerns of the citizens, the IMD has warned of a storm surge of about 1 meter height which may inundate the low lying areas of Chennai and Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram & Villupuram districts.

Fishermen along north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & south Andhra Pradesh coasts have been advised not to venture into sea and people in the affected area have been advised to stay indoors.