Sri Lanka's state-owned airline, Sri Lankan Airlines, on Monday announced that it had cancelled all flights to Chennai, the city in southern India due to a cyclone hitting the Tami Nadu coast.

Sri Lankan Airlines Spokesman Deepal Perera told Xinhua that the Chennai International Airport had been shut down due to severe weather and Sri Lankan Airlines had cancelled all its flights till Tuesday morning.

"There has been a red alert issued. Therefore all flights to Chennai will resume only on Tuesday morning," Perera said.

Sri Lanka's Department of Meteorology on Monday also warned residents living along the coastal areas of northern Sri Lanka to be cautious due to heavy winds and rains as the Cyclone Vardah was moving away from the island country towards southern India.

However the department said that disaster management teams were on alert in case of an emergency and officials were continuously monitoring the cyclone pattern.

source: Xinhua