Cyclone Ditwah weakens into deep depression; schools shut in Puducherry today

Cyclone Ditwah is expected to weaken into a deep depression and the weather system would be centred over southwest Bay of Bengal within a minimum distance of 30 km from the coasts of North Tamil Nadu and Puducherry by midnight of Sunday, the Regional Meteorological Centre said.

In an update about the Cyclone Ditwah, the Met office said the Cyclone Ditwah is located about 90 km southeast of Cuddalore, 120 km northeast of Karaikal, 90 km southeast of Puducherry, 170 km northeast of Vedaranniyam and 150 km southeast of Chennai.

“The minimum distance of the centre of the cyclone from north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts is about 80 km. It is very likely to move nearly northwards parallel to North Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts and weaken into a deep depression during the next 3 hours,” the bulletin issued by the Met office said on Sunday evening said.

The cyclone is moving at a speed of 5 kmph and it is expected to be with in a minimum distance of 30 km from the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coastline by midnight of Sunday, 30th November, it said.

Sri Lanka will require substantial external assistance for long-term reconstruction once the full scale of damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah is known, former minister of the island nation and the Chairman of its Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance, Harsha de Silva, said on Sunday.

In an interview to news agency PTI from Colombo, de Silva acknowledged India’s swift humanitarian response after the cyclone-triggered floods left a trail of destruction across the island nation.

Describing the scale of destruction inflicted by the cyclone, he said, “The situation is pretty tough. As you already know, more than 150 people have lost their lives, over 200 people are missing, and over a million people have been affected.”

“We see vast destruction across almost all districts of the island, with major infrastructure damage including roads, bridges, buildings, massive landslides, and rail tracks,” the former minister said.

De Silva acknowledged the contributions of various partners in the relief effort, particularly India’s prompt response. He emphasised that the focus at present is on addressing basic humanitarian needs rather than seeking large-scale external financial inflows.

“The current situation really is to make sure that the people who are displaced are brought to safe locations and that they have the necessities - food, clothing, medicines, and things like that,” the former minister said.

He clarified that Sri Lanka has adequate budgetary allocations for the ongoing relief phase and the country does not require large external inflows at the moment.

“I don’t think we need large amounts of financial support to come in from outside right now. As Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance, I am aware that we have sufficient allocations,” he said.

De Silva noted, however, that significant external investments would be needed later to rebuild major infrastructure. But the bigger challenge, according to him, would be working within the fiscal limits of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme imposed on Sri Lanka, which caps primary expenditure at 13 per cent of GDP.

“The real issue is going to be how we are going to make amendments in the IMF programme so that we can actually spend what we need to spend to get the economy back on track,” he said.

The IMD on Sunday said cyclone Ditwah, positioned over the southwest Bay of Bengal, is likely to intensify rainfall across several districts of Andhra Pradesh.

The system moved almost northwards during the past six hours and remained centred at latitude 11.4 degrees north and longitude 80.6 degrees east, close to the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts.

“Cyclone Ditwah, currently located over the southwest Bay of Bengal, is expected to significantly enhance rainfall activity across multiple districts of Andhra Pradesh,” the India Meteorological Department said in a release.

The cyclone is expected to continue moving along and off the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coastline, remaining 30 to 70 km offshore and enhancing rainfall over Andhra Pradesh.

North Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam are likely to receive light to moderate rain, with thunderstorms and squally winds of 35–45 kmph, gusting to 55 kmph, during the next two days.

Light to moderate rain or thundershowers are likely at a few places on Tuesday.

South Coastal Andhra Pradesh may witness heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rain at one or two locations through the day.

Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places on Monday, followed by light to moderate rainfall on Tuesday.

Rayalaseema is also expected to receive light to moderate rain at most places on Monday, with heavy to very heavy rain at one or two locations. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning may occur at isolated spots. Light to moderate rainfall is likely at a few places on Tuesday, the IMD added.

Andhra Pradesh Home Minister V Anita reviewed cyclone preparedness with the collectors of Nellore, Tirupati, Kadapa, Chittoor and Annamayya districts from the Secretariat in Guntur district.

She instructed officials to remain on high alert for 48 hours and ensure continuous warnings reach vulnerable habitations expected to experience severe rainfall and gusty winds.

At least 400 Indian nationals stranded at the Colombo airport following the extreme weather conditions in cyclone-hit Sri Lanka have been sent back home.

Around 150 of them were sent back to Delhi aboard flight C130 while 250 of them were sent to Trivandrum on flight IL 76 from the Bandaranaike International Airport.

Both the aircraft had arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday carrying food and humanitarian aid for flash floods victims.

As Sri Lanka battled the aftermath of the powerful cyclone Ditwah, Acting High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Dr Satyanjal Pandey, met stranded compatriots at the Colombo airport on Saturday.

The Indian High Commission provided food and water to those who needed it, and also assured the stranded Indians that New Delhi will facilitate their swift travel back home.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has said his government is ready to lend a helping hand to cyclone-wrecked Sri Lanka, by providing food and medicine, through the Union government.

Stalin said he has directed Chief Secretary N Muruganandam to form a committee of officials to work in coordination with the Central government in this regard.

Stalin added that steps were taken by the state’s Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils to safely bring back home passengers from Tamil Nadu stranded in Sri Lanka, and in the first phase, as many as 177 people, including four children and 60 women, were brought back to the state on Sunday morning.

Conveying his condolences to the bereaved families in Sri Lanka, the chief minister said the people of Tamil Nadu shared the grief of the people of the island nation.

India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, along with the Indian Air Force(IAF), continue to assist Sri Lankan authorities to save precious lives on a war footing.

India sent two urban search and rescue teams comprising 80 NDRF personnel to the island nation under Operation Sagar Bandhu, reaffirming the spirit of ‘Neighbourhood First’. In a daring operation, IAF helicopters undertook a hybrid rescue mission to extricate stranded passengers, including Indians, from a restricted zone.

“A Garud commando was winched down to guide the group through a cross-country route to a pre-briefed helipad at Kotmale, from where 24 passengers — including Indians, foreign nationals and Sri Lankans — were evacuated to Colombo,” the Indian Air Force posted on social media on Sunday.

In a parallel effort, three critical casualties were airlifted to Colombo for immediate medical attention, it said. The IAF team also airlifted “five teams of Sri Lankan Army personnel (40 troops)” from Diyathalawa Army Camp to the landslide-affected Kotmale region to support relief operations.

Two Chetak helicopters on board the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant also joined the rescue efforts. A family of four stranded on a rooftop was rescued by a Chetak team on Saturday.

“A family of four stranded on a rooftop was rescued by a Chetak helicopter from @IN_R11Vikrant on 29 November 2025. They were safely airlifted and brought to a secure location. #OperationSagarBandhu continues as India stands with the people of Sri Lanka,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo posted on social media.

According to the latest figures released by Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC) at 4 pm on Sunday, 212 people have been killed, with 218 missing since Thursday.

A whopping 9,98,918 people from 2,73,606 families were affected by the extreme weather, DMC said.

The IAF has deployed another C-130J transport aircraft as part of India’s humanitarian assistance extended to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, and positioned Mi-17 V5 helicopters in Colombo for swift relief operations.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has stepped up its efforts to assist the island nation in its hour of crisis in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah that has left a trail of destruction.

The aircraft, carrying equipment meant for a National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) team deployed as part of Operation Sagar Bandhu, landed in Colombo on Sunday. This transport aircraft will now be used to bring back Indian citizens, who have got stranded in that country.

The IAF also shared an update related to the ongoing operation on its X handle on Sunday.

The IAF's transport aircraft are earmarked for “large-scale evacuation” of Indian nationals, with “multiple missions” planned from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala and Hindan in Uttar Pradesh, the post said.

“Alongside evacuation, essential relief material, including Bhishm cubes and medical supplies are also being airlifted to support affected communities. The IAF remains steadfast in safeguarding lives and extending timely assistance to our neighbours in need,” it added.