The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday, December 1, issued an 'Orange' alert for North Coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal with a warning of extremely heavy rainfall (above 204.4 mm) on December 3 and heavy to very heavy rainfall on December 4.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin held a review meeting with 12 district collectors and officials on the preparedness ahead of the cyclone 'Michaung'.
The IMD said the low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a depression on Friday, December 1, and is likely to become a cyclonic storm which will cross the coast between Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Chennai around December 4 evening.
At 5.30 am on Friday, the system lay centred over the sea about 800 km away from Chennai, 970 km from Machilipatnam, 990 km from Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh and 790 km away from Puducherry. It is likely to continue to move towards the west and northwest, intensify into a deep depression by December 2 and further into a cyclonic storm around December 3, the IMD said.
Thereafter, it would move in the same direction and cross South Andhra Pradesh and adjoining North Tamil Nadu coast between Chennai and Machilipatnam around the evening of December 4 as a cyclonic storm, it said in a statement.
It appears that the system will have no impact on Odisha, an official at the Special Relief Commissioner's Office said.
