Chennai: The people of Tamil Nadu, who breathed a sigh of relief just a few days ago when the threat of Cyclone Baaz subsided, are nervous again.
With another cyclone looming over the horizon, the watery woes of Tamil Nadu seem never-ending.
Cyclone Fanoos has, in a day's time, crossed 250 km of area. It is currently centered 350 km east off the Nagapattinam shoreline and is likely to cross the coast between Chennai and Nagapattinam on Saturday afternoon.
Strong winds with speeds between 60 and 70 km per hour are predicted for the region and isolated heavy showers are likely for the next 48 hours in the region. The Met Department has warned fishermen not to venture out to sea.
Unlike Cyclone Baaz, which was stationary and thus lost its strength, Fanoos is fast moving towards the South. The Met Department is predicting certain landfall in Tamil Nadu, either in Chennai or in Pondicherry, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore.
Relief and rescue teams are on high alert in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur.
Relief Commissioner, Tamil Nadu,
R Santhanam, says, "All districts north of Nagapattinam are our focus now. We have intimated collectors to evacuate people from low lying areas and have asked the public works department to keep sand bags and casurina polls at hand."
In October and November, Tamil Nadu witnessed the heaviest rains in the last 50 years. The state was deluged, daily life came to a halt, nearly 270 people died in the floods and over 75,000 people were evacuated.
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalitha, had asked the Centre for Rs 13,000 crore for relief and rehabilitation in the state.
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