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Thursday, November 30, 2017

Cyclone Ockhi moving away from Kerala coast, heavy rains lash Trivandrum, Kanyakumari Thursday Nov 30,2017

The southern districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu received heavy rainfall as Cyclone Ockhi, which originated near the Sri Lankan coast, rattled through the Arabian Sea towards Lakshwadeep islands.

“It is currently 100 kilometres away from Thiruvananthapuram and moving in the south-west direction. The cyclone is getting stronger but it is moving away from the Kerala coast,” said Sudevan, IMD Director, adding that it will pass through the sea between Kerala and the Lakshwadeep islands.

The IMD director said they had issued warnings about the cyclone on Wdnesday itself and alerted the fishermen. “We had issued warnings yesterday itself. We have told fishermen not to go out to sea,” he said.

There were widespread damage to property in Kanyakumari, Nagercoil, Lakshwadeep islands, Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts as many trees got uprooted and power lines crashed to the ground. Schools have been ordered to shut down in the state capital.

Central Kerala districts like Ernakulam and Kottayam are likely to see thundershowers. Pilgrims travelling to the Sabarimala shrine, which opened doors earlier this month, are likely to be affected.
Road traffic, especially on the national highway between Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, are likely to face disruptions, while a number of passenger trains between Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram have been cancelled.

Long-distance express trains like Kanyakumari-Mumbai CST Express and the Kanyakumari-Bengaluru Island Express have been rescheduled. These trains, scheduled to depart from Kanyakumari in the early morning hours, will now depart in the afternoon.

Note

Issuing an “orange” alert, the India Meteorological Department announced the arrival of the first typical storm of the season, cyclone Ockhi over the districts in South Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep. The name Ockhi is coined by Bangladesh. According to Hurricane Research Division, tropical cyclones are named to provide ease of communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches, and warnings.

How did cyclone Ockha form?
The deep depression in the south of Kanyakumari and west of Sri Lanka, intensified and resulted into a cyclonic storm. According to Skymet, the cyclone moving at a speed of 38 kmph, is centered at Latitude 7.5°N and Longitude 77.5°E, around 55 km south of Kanyakumari, 120 km southwest of Thiruvananthapuram, 480 km east-­southeast of Minicoy and 340 km west-­northwest of Galle in Sri Lanka and is moving towards Lakshadweep island.

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