The Deep Depression over the southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal is found to be moving westwards at a speed of 11 km an hour. The MET Department has said in its latest weather bulletin, the system currently lays centered at about 500 km east-southeast of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka and 900 km east-southeast of Kanyakumari.

It is likely to intensify further into a cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours and move west-north-westwards. It is set to cross the Sri Lanka coast near Trincomalee by the evening or night on 2nd December and move nearly westwards thereafter. It is expected to emerge into the Gulf of Mannar and adjoining Comorin area in the morning on the 3rd December and move westward towards south Tamil Nadu coast.

Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, Ramanathapuram and Sivagangai districts are expected to get heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely very heavy rainfall at isolated places from the 2nd to 3rd December. Fishermen have been asked to return to the coast and not to venture into the sea during this time. Our correspondent reports, in view of the impending cyclone, the state government has ed all the districts that are lying on its path to take precautionary measures.

Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy reviewed the measures being taken to tackle the situation with his cabinet colleagues in the Secretariat at Fort St George in Chennai this morning. The NDRF has dispatched three of its teams to the southern district of Tirunelveli comprising 60 personnel each to assist the civil administration in rescue and relief operations whenever required. 

The Kanyakumari district administration has said 161 fishermen are yet to return to the shores and efforts are on to establish communication with them and to bring them back. Cyclone warning cones have been hoisted in various major and minor ports in southern Tamil Nadu.