Cyclone Burevi continues to wreak havoc in Tamil Nadu with heavy rains causing severe damage to crops and fields. Kollidam (36 cm, Nagapattinam district), Chidambaram (34 cm, Cuddalore) received extremely heavy rainfall along with over two dozen other districts which received 10-28 cm of rainfall.
The deep depression formed over the Gulf of Mannar near the Ramanathapuram coast is the cause of the heavy rainfall. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the depression remained stationary for nearly 18 hours and then gradually became weak on December 3. The latest bulletin by the IMD said, "The depression is likely to remain practically stationary over the same (Ramanathapuram) region and weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area during the next 12 hours (by early Saturday)."
Inundation and waterlogging have led to severe crop damage. Rescue personnel has evacuated stranded people from the worst affected areas like Cuddalore district and the agricultural belt of the Cauvery delta including Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Pudukottai and Ariyalur.
As a precautionary step, power supply was cut from low lying residential areas and places like Rameswaram, Thangachi Madam, Pambam and Mandapam saw power cuts for the fourth consecutive day. Rameswaram also reported drinking water shortage as pumps could not be operated. The Tamil Nadu government had declared Friday a holiday for Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Tuticorin and Ramanathapuram districts in view of the weather system.
On the other hand, IMD has let a sigh of relief for Kerala as it removed the red alert warning for the state. The weakening of the cyclone is a cause of relief for the southern reaches of Kerala and the state continues to have a yellow alert issued. The depression is expected to remain stationary for some time now.
