Cyclone Fengal is strengthening over the Bay of Bengal and is predicted to make landfall around Karaikal, about 36 km north of Mahabalipuram, on the morning of November 30, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The system over the southwest Bay of Bengal is currently a deep depression moving northwest and will be a cyclone within hours. The wind is expected to blow at speeds of 50 to 60 kmph, with gusts of 70 kmph, and resultant heavy rainfall in northern Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining areas. The problem already is that coastal areas are starting to have intermittent rainfall and flooding.
Chief Minister of Puducherrry N. Rangasamy has activated disaster response teams and shifted people out of inundated low lying areas of the coastal town to relief camps established there. It also rains 7.5 cm in past 24 hours in the union territory while Karaikal recorded 9.5cm. However, emergencies are being controlled round the clock by a control room.
Indian Coast Guard is advising fishing boats to return to harbor for safekeeping. Chennai Regional Meteorological Centre has estimated ‘heavy to very heavy rain’ in Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Chennai, and Tiruvallur districts.
IndiGo has issued advisories for passengers at all three airports — Chennai, Tuticorin and Madurai — as well as airports in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Bhubaneswar, Amritsar, Lucknow, Chandigarh, and Jaipur among others.
Over 2,000 acres of paddy fields in the Cauvery delta are partly or fully submerged, salt pans in Nagapattinam have been damaged and Villupuram has been badly affected by flooding. There have been enormous local damage caused by rain related incidents, including fallen trees and structural collapses.
Cyclone Fengal is still expected to weaken into a deep depression when it hits, but heavy rainfall and strong winds will continue. The storm is expected and authorities tell residents to stay vigilant, and take precautions.
