Chennai: At least nine people have lost their lives and more than 80 fishermen and 50 boats have gone missing after Cyclonic storm ‘Ockhi’ lashed the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala with torrential rainfall and gusty winds.
It has moved westwards and intensified into a deep depression.
Kerala Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty, however, said the Indian Navy and Coast Guard have rescued 33 fishermen and have located another 70 following the bad weather conditions that hit Kerala and Tamil Nadu coasts a day ago.
The Chennai collector has declared a holiday for schools across the city in view of the heavy rainfall warning from the MeT department.
Besides Chennai, the authorities have closed schools in Kanyakumari, Tuticorin, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Madurai, Theni, Thanjavur and Thiruvarur for the day.
The authorities in these state have taken several precautionary measures which include issuing an advisory to people asking them to stay inside their houses.
While a high alert has already been sounded and the NDRF relief and rescue teams have been asked to be prepared to meet any eventuality, the fishermen have been advised not to venture into the high sea.
Meanwhile, search operations for the several missing fishermen, who had put out to sea from the coast here, resumed this morning with Navy deploying a Dornier and an Advanced light helicopter (ALH) with divers.
The governments in Kerala and Tamil Nadu had sought help from the Navy, the Coast Guard and the Air Force for assisting those in distress.
Navy, which had yesterday sent a Seaking helicopter for the search operations, this morning deployed a Dornier and an ALH with divers, Southern Naval Command spokesperson Commander Sreedhar Warrier was quoted as saying by.
Five ships had been sent to the southern Kerala coast yesterday by the Navy after reports emerged that several fishermen who had put out to sea in choppy waters were yet to return.
Two ships with relief materials are on standby for humanitarian assistance to Lakshadweep.
Police said they have no exact information on the total number of fishermen missing as some have landed at various coasts, including at Colachel in TN.
At least four fishermen who managed to reach the shores early today said that they saw several overturned boats.
Two AN32 Aircraft have located people stranded in the sea and Coast Guard and Navy have been informed about the location of the fishermen and floating boats, a PIB press release said.
Though two Air Force choppers are ready for rescue operations, but due to the rough weather over the Arabian sea, they have not been able to airborne, the release added.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has also issued a list of do’s and dont’s for people in the most-affected areas and asked them not to panic in during such situations. The agency also asked people to listen to radio, watch television for weather updates and have an emergency kit ready.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the Cyclone Ockhi is now heading for Lakshadweep and is unlikely to make landfall in India.
The latest observations, radar and satellite imageries released by IMD this morning indicate that the cyclonic storm over Southeast Arabian sea has moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 25 kmph during the past 6 hours and lay centred at 0230 today over the Southeast Arabian sea, about 230 km west of Thiruvananthapuram and 160 km east of Minicoy.
Several trees were uprooted and power lines were snapped and settlements close to the sea were severely damaged due to the Cyclonic storm Ockhi in Kanyakumari and Thoothukudi districts of Tamil Nadu.
According to, the cyclone had claimed the lives of at least four people in Kerala alone.
(In Pics: Cyclone Ockhi creates havoc)
On Thursday, a man in an autorickshaw died in Kollam after a tree fell on the three-wheeler, two others were electrocuted in Trivandrum and a woman died after a tree fell on her house in Vizhinjam due to the cyclone.
The IMD had earlier issued a ”heavy to very heavy rainfall” warning in both the states.
The depression in Southwest Bay of Bengal had snowballed into the cyclonic storm ‘Ockhi’, it said.
The deadly storm has killed at least seven people in neighbouring Sri Lanka and affected the lives of nearly 20,000 people, the reports said.
Bureau Report
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