For the third straight day, winds from the remnants of Cyclone Ditwah battered Chennai and surrounding districts on Wednesday as the weakened weather system stalled unusually close to the Tamil Nadu coast, which meteorologists say has prolonged heavy rainfall across the region.

Once a deep depression, Ditwah has now weakened into a well-marked low-pressure area along the North Tamil Nadu -Puducherry coastline. Despite this, its slow inland drift has kept rain bands rotating over Chennai , Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and northern coastal districts, triggering repeated bursts of heavy rainfall since early Tuesday.

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, issued an orange alert for several northern districts – including Chennai, Tiruvallur, Ranipet and Kancheepuram – warning

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