Over the last six hours, the deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal has been traveling at a speed of 7 kmph toward the north-northwest. It was situated close to latitude 10.4°N and longitude 82.7°E as of 5:30 am IST. It is roughly 400 kilometers southeast of Chennai, 260 kilometers northeast of Trincomalee, 310 kilometers east of Nagapattinam, and 360 kilometers east-southeast of Puducherry.

On the morning of November 30, the system is predicted to continue its northwestward trajectory, cross the coasts of north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram, and make landfall close to Puducherry. With wind speeds between 55 and 65 kmph and gusts up to 75 kmph, it is predicted to continue to be a deep depression.

Rainfall and crop damage in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district has already experienced significant rainfall, with Nagapattinam AWS and Velankanni recording 6 cm, while Thiruthuraipoondi and Vedaranyam reported 5 cm each.

The inclement weather has led to extensive crop damage in the district, with over 800 acres of paddy fields submerged. Areas such as Kamashwaram, Virundhamavadi, Pudupalli, Vedrappu, Vanamadevi, Vallapallam, Kallimedu, Eeravayal, and Chemboadi are among the worst affected, leaving local farmers in distress.

Fortunately, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has been actively involved in rescue operations. On Thursday, they successfully rescued six stranded fishermen and four workers from the Chemplast jetty in Cuddalore, located 2 km offshore, despite challenging weather conditions.

Sri Lanka faces the aftermath of torrential rains

In Sri Lanka, the heavy rains linked to the deep depression have resulted in 12 fatalities, according to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC). A staggering 3,35,155 people from 99,876 families across 23 districts have been severely affected.

Flash flood warnings and rainfall forecast

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued low to moderate flash flood risk warnings for several regions, including Tamil Nadu’s Chennai, Tiruvallur, and Kanchipuram districts, Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, and Karaikal in Puducherry over the next 24 hours.

The rainfall outlook for the coming days includes:

November 29–30: Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls over north Tamil Nadu, south Andhra Pradesh, and Rayalaseema.

November 30–December 2: Heavy to very heavy rainfall over Kerala, Mahe, and South Interior Karnataka.

December 1–2: Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, Rayalaseema, and Lakshadweep will see heavy rainfall.

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are also expected to experience light to moderate rainfall throughout the week, with isolated heavy rainfall on November 30.

A​ccordingly, the IMD has issued a red warning over Tamil Nadu on November 29-30, and an orange alert on December 1. Andhra Pradesh will be under a red warning on November 29 and an orange alert on November 30. South Interior Karnataka and Kerala will also be under an orange alert on November 30.