Around 12,000 people have been evacuated from coastal Tamil Nadu ahead of cyclone Gaja's landfall. Around 10,692 people are from Nagapattinam district where the landfall is expected to happen.

"The outer band of severe cyclonic storm Gaja has entered the land area," said MeT Director in Chennai Dr S Balachandran. "It still remains a severe cyclonic storm. It would take three to four hours for the eye of the cyclonic storm to make landfall."