Holiday declared for schools and colleges in several districts; rain intensity may peak on December 9; heavy to very heavy rain may continue on the next day, particularly over northern parts of Tamil Nadu.
CYCLONE MANDOUS;
Cyclone Mandous, which is likely to bring heavy rain with strong winds, may hit the north Tamil Nadu coast around Mamallapuram on midnight of December 9, with a wind speed gusting up to 85 kmph. A holiday has been declared on December 9 for schools and colleges in Chennai, Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Ranipet, Vellore, Villupuram, Thiruvarur, Perambalur, Kallakurichi, Mayiladuthurai, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Ariyalur, Dharmapuri, Nagapattinam, Tiruchirappalli, Salem and Namakkal districts in view of the heavy rain alert. It is very likely to maintain its intensity of Severe Cyclonic Storm till early morning of December 9 and weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm by forenoon that day. The system would then continue to move west-northwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts between Puducherry and Sriharikota, around Mamallapuram.
Intensity of Rain:
Heavy to very heavy rain may continue, particularly over the northern parts of the State, after landfall on December 10. In other places, it is expected to reduce to moderate intensity. The RMC has predicted stronger winds on December 9, gusting up to 80 kmph. Storm surge of about 0.5 m height may inundate low-lying areas in the north coastal region during landfall.
Holiday Declared in School and Colleges:
In Puducherry and Kariakal, a holiday has been declared for all government and private schools on December 9 and 10.
The University of Madras, the TamilNadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, the TamilNadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, the Anna University and the Bharathidasan University said that exams scheduled to be held on December 9 have been postponed.
