Colombo, Nov 26 (IANS): Sri Lanka's Department of Meteorology issued a red alert on Tuesday, warning that the deep depression in the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday.

The department said the depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression. The system was located some 170 km southeast of Batticaloa and 240 km of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka at around 11:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

It is likely to move closer to the east coast of Sri Lanka and intensify further into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday. Under the influence of the system cloudy skies will prevail over most parts of the country, the department said.

The department said very heavy showers and gusty winds can be expected in Northern, North Central, Eastern, Uva, North Western and Central Provinces, Xinhua news agency reported.

The deep and shallow sea areas around the country will be rough to very rough as the wind speed can increase up to 60-70 km per hour at times, according to the department.

Naval and fishing communities have been warned not to venture to the deep and shallow sea areas around the country until further notice.