Schools shut in Puducherry, Karaikal and Dindigul on Monday as cyclone signal goes up

Schools and colleges in Puducherry and Karaikal are closed on Monday, and schools in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district have been given the day off, as heavy rain linked to the deepening system in the Bay of Bengal continues over the south.

Cyclone Warning Signal No. 1 was hoisted at Puducherry port on Sunday. It is a distant warning, telling ports and fishermen that a storm has formed far out at sea that could affect them. Other districts may also declare holidays for Monday depending on local conditions, and parents have been advised to follow announcements from their district administrations.

The storm offshore

The depression over the east-central and southeast Bay of Bengal strengthened into a deep depression on Sunday. The India Meteorological Department expects it to become a cyclonic storm, to be named Arnab, on Monday morning and to keep intensifying as it moves northwest. It is forecast to make landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam around Wednesday morning as a very severe cyclonic storm.

Even with the storm heading north, the IMD expects heavy to very heavy rain, with isolated extremely heavy falls, over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, along with thunderstorms. Five central Tamil Nadu districts, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Ariyalur, Perambalur and Tiruchirappalli, were under a red alert on Sunday, with 18 more on orange alert.

The IMD has warned of squally winds of 50 to 60 km/h, gusting to 70 km/h, over parts of the Bay of Bengal, and has advised fishermen to keep out of the affected waters.