Cyclones in Tamil Nadu

Cyclonic Storm Ditwah formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal on 26 November 2025 and intensified from a depression to a cyclonic storm in under 24 hours before crossing Sri Lanka's eastern coast on 28 November. Its winds were only moderate (65-75 km/h at landfall), but the storm moved slowly, dropping prolonged, extreme rainfall that triggered severe flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka - the deadliest impact of any storm in this archive outside the 1999 Odisha cyclone and Nargis. A World Bank rapid damage assessment recorded 647 deaths, 183 people still missing, and over 4 billion US dollars in damage, with parts of southern India also placed under alert.

Cyclonic Storm Fengal formed over the Bay of Bengal in late November 2024 and made landfall near Puducherry on the evening of 30 November, with winds of 70-80 km/h gusting to 90 km/h. It then stalled over north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry rather than weakening quickly inland, dropping record rainfall (over 48 cm in 24 hours in Puducherry, the highest in three decades) that caused most of the flooding damage. It killed at least 37 people across India and Sri Lanka combined.

Severe Cyclonic Storm Michaung moved slowly along the Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh coasts and crossed near Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh on 5 December 2023 with winds of 90-100 km/h. Its heavy rain, more than its wind, caused severe flooding, especially in and around Chennai, and the storm caused 17 deaths and about 1.32 billion US dollars in damage.

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Gaja crossed the Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam in the early hours of 16 November 2018 with winds of 120-140 km/h. The delta districts of Tamil Nadu suffered heavy damage to homes, coconut groves and crops, and around 250,000 people were displaced. Government records list 45 deaths, against 52 in international tallies.

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Ockhi developed from a depression in the southern Bay of Bengal on 29 November 2017, crossed Sri Lanka, brushed southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and strengthened over the Arabian Sea near Lakshadweep. Many fishermen were at sea when it struck. International tallies list 318 deaths and 141 missing, while the Ministry of Home Affairs told Parliament that 365 people died, making it India's deadliest cyclone since 1999.

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Vardah made landfall near Chennai, causing significant damage to infrastructure and uprooting thousands of trees. The storm affected power supply and telecommunications across Tamil Nadu.