Chennai is getting ready for heavy rain as Cyclone Ditwah, which formed over
the Bay of Bengal on Thursday, may reach the north Tamil Nadu coast in two days.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has raised the alert from orange to
red for the delta and some north coastal districts on Nov 28 and 29. A red alert
means extremely heavy rain of more than 20 cm in 24 hours.
The city and nearby districts are under an orange alert for heavy to very heavy
rain (12–20 cm in 24 hours) on Nov 29 and 30.
As of Thursday evening, the cyclone, which quickly grew from a depression in less
than 24 hours, was 670 km south-southeast of Chennai and causing heavy rain over
Sri Lanka.