Schools in Chennai, Kanyakumari, Tuticorin, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Madurai, Theni, Thanjavur and Thiruvarur will remain closed on Friday.
At least 80 fishermen and 50 boats have gone missing after cyclone Ockhi lashed the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala with torrential rainfall and gusty winds. The cyclone has so far claimed the lives of at least eight people in Kerala and Tamin Nadu.
Kerala Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty, however, said the Indian Navy and Coast Guard have rescued 33 fishermen that hit Kerala and Tamil Nadu coasts a day ago. The search operation is on to rescue several other missing fishermen.
Navy and coastal guards on Friday rescued 59 people stranded in Kerala.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Director General (DG) of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and reviewed the situation in areas affected by Cyclone Ockhi. The official Twitter account of Home Minister Office tweeted that NDRF teams have already moved to affected areas.
According to ANI, the Indian Navy assets have sighted twenty four people stranded at the sea due to Cyclone Ockhi, and efforts are underway to rescue all of them.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday said the cyclonic storm Ockhi has intensified into severe cyclone and lies at about 110 kilometer northeast of island Minicoy and likely to cross Lakshadweep during next 24 hours. The cyclone has created widespread havoc, bringing normal life to a halt. Hence, schools in Chennai, Kanyakumari, Tuticorin, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Madurai, Theni, Thanjavur and Thiruvarur will remain closed on Friday.
At least five Navy ships have been deployed from Kochi, two ships on standby in Lakshadweep, and two ICG ships each deployed from Kochi and Tuticorin, for search and rescue operation.
A P8I aircraft, the Navy Dornier and the Coast Guard Dornier have also been deployed for the same. Helicopters are kept ready on standby. Earlier, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also confirmed that several naval ships were deployed for rescue operations as Tamil Nadu and Kerala brace for the cyclonic storm Ockhi. Cyclone Ockhi that has created massive destruction in Tamil Nadu and Kerala is now moving towards Lakshwadeep Islands.In a series of tweets, Sitharaman further informed that six warships and two coast guard ships have been deployed along with additional air effort.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has already issued an alert of heavy to very heavy rainfall in both the states.The depression in southwest Bay of Bengal had snowballed into the cyclonic storm- Ockhi.
Torrential rains pounded southern districts of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Kerala crippling life and claiming eight lives-- four each in the two states -- as a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal intensified into cyclonic storm 'Ockhi' on Thursday.
On Thursday, a man in an autorickshaw died in Kollam after a tree fell on the three-wheeler, two others were electrocuted in Trivandrum and a woman died after a tree fell on her house in Vizhinjam due to the cyclone.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has also issued a list of do's and dont's for people in the most-affected areas and asked them not to panic in during such situations.
The deadly storm has killed seven people in neighbouring Sri Lanka and affected the lives of nearly 20,000 people.
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