Tamil Nadu rains: Widespread shower batter Chennai, Dindigul and Thoothukudi districts from Wednesday night. Following the rainfall, a rain holiday has been declared for schools of Chennai and 10 other districts. The incessant rainfall has also inundated the KTCC--Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, and Kancheepuram areas.
The 11 districts including Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai, and Cuddalore have declared school closures for the day.
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has forecast more spells of rain in Chennai and districts, including Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Tiruvarur, and Thanjavur. The neighboring union territory of Puducherry is also expected to experience similar conditions.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that a well-marked low-pressure area currently positioned over the southwest Bay of Bengal near the Sri Lankan coast is likely to move west-northwestwards towards the Sri Lanka-Tamil Nadu coast in the next 24 hours. IMD said, "Yesterday’s well marked low pressure area over the southwest and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal lay over southwest Bay of Bengal at 0530 IST and over southwest Bay of Bengal off Sri Lanka coast at 0830 IST of today, the 12th December, 2024. The system is very likely to continue to move west-northwestwards towards Sri-Lanka-Tamilnadu coasts during the next 24 hours."
The IMD announced an orange alert for districts like Ariyalur, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, and Pudukkottai, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall. A yellow alert has been issued to districts including Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, and several others. Puducherry and Karaikal have also been included in the advisory.