Cyclone Burevi is likely to hit the southern part of Tamil Nadu on December 4, the India Meteorological Department said in a tweet on Wednesday.

This is the second cyclone that is predicted to hit the state in the space of a few days, after a very severe cyclone Nivar made landfall near between Puducherry and Marakkanam in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu in the early hours of November 26.

However, Burevi is unlikely to be as intense as Nivar, India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra told PTI.

According to last update by the weather department, Burevi was located 240 kilometres east-southeast of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka on Wednesday morning. The storm is likely to hit the island nation on Wednesday evening.

In India, the cyclone is likely to hit Tamil Nadu between the cities of Pamban and Kanniyakumari on Friday morning.

Director General of the National Disaster Response Force Satya Pradhan tweeted about preparations that are being done ahead of the storm’s landfall.

Nine teams of the NDRF have been positioned in Kanniyakumari. Officials and police officers have been instructed to alert fishermen and help them reach safety, The Hindu reported.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has also urged people living in southern districts of the state to avoid going out till December 4.

“Officials in charge of Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, Sivaganga, Theni, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar must camp and take precautionary measures,” the chief minister said.

Palaniswami also chaired a meeting of ministers and senior officials on Tuesday and reviewed measures being taken in view of the weather forecast.