Chennai, Nov 26 : Four southern districts of Tamil Nadu — Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram — have been placed on high alert as a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal moves closer to cyclonic intensity. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of very heavy rainfall in these districts on Wednesday, with the weather system expected to strengthen further over the next 24 hours. The deep depression, which intensified from a low-pressure area over the Bay, is moving west-northwest and may gain additional strength.
While earlier predictions suggested a potential cyclone, IMD has now indicated only that the system will continue to intensify. Meanwhile, another low-pressure area persists near the Malacca Strait, and a separate system is active over the southwest Bay of Bengal, southern Sri Lanka and the adjoining Indian Ocean. Together, they have triggered widespread heavy rainfall across Tamil Nadu, submerging vast stretches of farmland. In Cuddalore district, nearly 1,500 acres of paddy fields in Poovalai, Alamelu Mangapuram and Manikollai remain under water. Farmers blame repeated flooding on the Paravanar river, alleging that embankments were not built even though silt was removed under a river improvement project. Nagapattinam district has suffered severe crop losses, with 15,000 acres of paddy submerged in Keelannapur, Vadamarudhur and Panayur. In Karuvelankadai, Chetticheri and Melachetticheri, over 500 acres of Samba paddy have been lost to flooding. Umbalachery near Vedaranyam recorded over 1,000 acres of inundated farmland.