In a relief to Kerala, the India Meteorological Department has withdrawn the red alert issued for cyclone Burevi and rains in the seven southern most districts of Kerala as the deep depression was likely to weaken further into a depression. The IMD had in a late night bulletin issued on Thursday withdrawn the red alert and issued a yellow alert for 10 districts of the state.
The deep depression is likely to remain practically stationary over the same region and weaken into a depression during next 12 hours, says IMD in the bulletin released on Friday. The deep depression is likely to move slowly west-southwestwards and cross Ramanathapuram and adjoining Thoothukudi districts in Tamil Nadu during the next six hours with wind speed of 50-60 gusting to 70 kmph. The IMD has already issued a red alert for south Tamil Nadu and south Kerala. Heavy rains lashed parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry under the influence of the cyclone, with authorities deploying NDRF teams and setting up relief camps as disaster-response measures in view of the storm’s impending landfall. Flight operations in three airports in Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been suspended as a precautionary measure. A public holiday has been declared in five districts in Kerala; in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Idukki. The IMD had earlier predicted that Burevi, which crossed the Sri Lanka coast on Wednesday night, would hit the Tamil Nadu coast as a cyclonic storm. Severe thunderstorm with heavy rain is likely to occur in various parts of Tamilnadu.
