Heavy Rains Leave 800 Tourists Stranded In Andaman

Even as quakes shook south-east Asia early on Wednesday, bad weather and a tropical storm continue to beat down on the sub-continent. While heavy fog continues to disrupt traffic and delay flights in Delhi, heavy rain following a storm in the Andaman, has left several tourists in a tight spot.

About 800 tourists are reportedly stuck at Havelock islands in the Andaman as heavy rain continues unabated. Three Navy ships have been deployed for operations that will ferry the tourists from Havelock islands to Port Blair.

Havelock, the largest in the chain of islands that form the Ritchie's Archipelago, belongs to the Andamans and is around 40 km from the capital Port Blair. It is a popular destination that is known for its beaches.

The MET department on Tuesday warned that Andaman and Nicobar archipelago will receive rainfall in the next two days due to a depression over southeast Bay of Bengal. It also mentioned that the depression is likely to lead to a cyclonic storm in the next 48 hours.

According to Cyclone Warning Division of the India Meteorological Department, the depression laid centered around 1260 km south-southeast of Vishakhapatnam, 1310 km south-southeast of Gopalpur and 260 km west-southwest of Car Nicobar.