Cyclone Burevi will be active from today, stay indoors: CM Palaniswami

Chennai

“Cyclone Burevi is likely to strike south Tamil Nadu by Thursday and the Collectors should ensure that the men and machinery are positioned in low lying areas to tackle the floods and squalls,” Palaniswami told the officials during the meeting.

“To handle cyclone crisis, nine teams of National Disaster Response Force had rushed to coastal and southern districts of Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Madurai. The District Collectors of southern districts are instructed to store adequate diesel and generators. Fisheries Department had warned the fishermen not to venture into the sea,” Palaniswami said in a statement.

He also said that Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) will deploy 1,000 additional workers in cyclone-prone areas to attend power cuts and disaster relief works. TNEB is advised to stock transformers, EB posts, cables and generators from other districts, the CM said and urged the public not to rely on social media rumours.

Proper cyclone alerts will be issued by the disaster management authority through official apps, twitter and bulletins. The public should follow only these advisories, the CM said. Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, chief secretary K Shanmugam and state department secretaries took part in the meeting.

Earlier in the day, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister RB Udhayakumar said about 700 mechanised boats and deep-sea fishing vessels had left Kanniyakumari and Thoothukudi coasts. These fishermen have been cautioned through high-frequency radio channels. Further, the geo co-ordinates of these missing vessels are shared with the Fisheries Departments of other Indian states and Lakshadweep Island, Udhayakumar said. He also said that the members of state disaster response force would be positioned at Ramanathapuram, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Theni, Kanniyakumari, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar and Dindigul.