An orange alert was issued on Monday, 19 October, for Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore and the Nilgiris, with the weather department forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall in the four districts amid widespread rain across Tamil Nadu, news agency IANS reported, citing the weather centre's bulletin.

Several other districts were also forecast to receive heavy rainfall on Monday, including Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Salem, Tiruvallur, Tiruppur, Dindigul, Theni, Virudhunagar, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram, Madurai, Sivaganga, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi, Tirupattur, Erode and Namakkal.

For Tuesday, 20 October, the orange alert shifts to Tirunelveli and Madurai, where heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely, while heavy rainfall has been forecast across 35 districts of the state.

The wet spell is linked to the active northeast monsoon, which runs from October to December and brings Tamil Nadu the largest share of its annual rainfall; reports citing the Regional Meteorological Centre said heavy rain is expected to continue in parts of the state over the coming days, until around 24 October.

An orange alert signals weather likely to disrupt normal life, and residents in Chennai and the other alert districts have been advised to avoid waterlogged roads and low-lying areas and to follow updates from the India Meteorological Department closely.

Sources: IANS; Nation Press; Regional Meteorological Centre updates reported by Tezzbuzz.