Cyclone Ditwah weakened into a deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal early Monday and continued moving northward at about 10 kmph, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The system is expected to lose further strength and become a depression by Monday noon.
In its 2 am update, the IMD said the centre of the deep depression was located roughly 50 km off the north Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coasts. The weather agency had earlier issued a red alert for north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and parts of south Andhra Pradesh.
Tamil Nadu’s revenue and disaster management minister, KKSSR Ramachandran, said three people have died in rain-related incidents linked to the cyclone.
In Andhra Pradesh, the state government said it has identified nearly 7,900 pregnant women nearing delivery in districts expected to receive heavy rainfall. Of them, 375 have already been shifted to hospitals as a precaution.
Medical, health and family welfare commissioner Veerapandian said efforts are underway to move the remaining women to nearby hospitals to ensure timely care. Medical staff across 10 districts have been asked to stay on alert, and hospital superintendents were instructed to maintain an uninterrupted power supply during the cyclone’s impact.
Authorities said additional medical camps will be set up depending on the severity of the rainfall and local conditions.
