Administration on full alert following cyclone warning in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu

Finance Secretary M. Raju holding charge in the absence of the Chief Secretary, chairs a meeting of the disaster management authority involving officials from various nodal departments to put in place a set of measures to minimise the impact of the cyclone

The administration has called in three units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), opened relief camps for evacuees from low-lying areas and established a round-the-clock control room as it ramped up preparedness levels following a cyclone warning.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for the next three days with the likelihood of a low pressure area over south Andaman Sea intensifying into a cyclone that has been named Mandous.

On Tuesday, Finance Secretary M. Raju holding charge in the absence of the Chief Secretary, chaired a meeting of the disaster management authority involving officials from various nodal departments to put in place a set of measures to minimise the impact of the cyclone.

Officials from the police, education, fire, revenue, health and other departments participated.

Briefing the media after the meeting, District Collector E. Vallavan, said a total of 248 relief camps equipped with basic amenities had been readied in Puducherry and Karaikal — 167 shelters have been set up in Puducherry to accommodate families shifted from flood-prone and vulnerable areas.

While two NDRF units will be stationed in Puducherry, one will be deployed in Karaikal. By evening, two units from NDRF Arakkonam, had reached the Union Territory while a third is expected to arrive on Wednesday.