Chennai, Oct 28 (PTI) The Met Department issued a storm warning for ports in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday with Cyclone 'Montha' moving towards Andhra Pradesh.
Montha means a fragrant flower in Thai language.
"We have informed port authorities in Chennai, Ennore and Kattupalli to hoist Local Warning signal No 4," said Regional Meteorology Centre (RMC) Director B Amudha.
She also said a distant warning of signal No 2 was issued to Cuddalore and Nagapattinam ports as well as Puducherry and Karaikal ports.
"The warning is issued when there is a cyclone in the sea and gusty winds are likely to be experienced by the port. It is a warning for ships and ports so that they take precautionary measures against sudden winds and prevent damage," said the director.
As the cyclone 'Montha' intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, all eyes are on Tiruvallur district, which is expected to receive heavy rainfall on Tuesday.
According to Tiruvallur District Disaster Management, in the last 24 hours, till 6 am on Tuesday, Ponneri and Avadi in Tiruvallur received 72 mm and 62 mm of rainfall respectively.
Tiruvallur District Collector M Prathap declared a holiday for schools on Tuesday, anticipating heavy rains.
According to RMC's latest bulletin, isolated places over Chengalpattu, Chennai, Kanchipuram, Ranipet, Tiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Tirupattur, Villupuram, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari districts will likely see moderate rain with light thunderstorm and lightning.
The RMC warned fishermen against venturing into the sea till October 29. Due to Cyclone Montha in the Bay of Bengal, surface winds are expected to reach speeds of 90 to 100 kmph, gusting to 110 kmph, the bulletin said.
As RMC expects traffic to be affected in some areas due to the rains, Deputy Chief Minister Udhyanidhi Stalin, paid a surprise visit to the Command and Control Centre functioning at the Chennai Metropolitan Corporation office early Tuesday.
He checked how the flow of traffic in various parts of the city, particularly in areas prone to traffic snarls, is being managed.
In Chennai, schools were declared holiday on Tuesday due to rain.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
