Cyclone Fengal makes landfall in India's Tamil Nadu, red alert issued in 10 districts

Cyclone Fengal made landfall in India's southernmost state of Tamil Nadu on Saturday (Nov 30) evening. The storm is likely to cross the Tamil Nadu coast in the next three hours, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD). 

The cyclone was expected to bring strong winds of 70-80 km/h, gusting to 90 km/h, during the afternoon of November 30 in parts of Tamil Nadu, South Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and interior Karnataka as well as Puducherry.

The IMD also issued a red alert for at least ten districts of the states in southern India given incessant rainfall.

News agency PTI reported that authorities had sent alerts and text messages to at least 1.2 million residents ahead of the landfall. 

Cyclone Fengal: Tamil Nadu Battling Hight Tides, Gusty Winds

Chennai IMD Head S Balachandran said, “It is lying at about 100kms south-east of Chennai and Northeast of Puducherry. It is moving at the rate of 10km/hour. It is likely to cross near Puducherry by today evening," reported news agency ANI.

He added, "There will be extremely heavy rainfall... The day after tomorrow, the system will move westward... The wind speed will be 70-80 kmph at the time of crossing, gusting to 90 kmph."

Operations at the Chennai airport have also been suspended till 4:00 am (local time) Sunday morning. Media reports citing official sources said the two runways and the taxiway at the Chennai airport were inundated, as a result, around 55 flights were cancelled and 19 others were diverted. The services reportedly included both domestic and international operations.

Local trains across all suburban sections in the Chennai division were operating at reduced frequency intervals.

The Tamil Nadu government earlier ordered all schools and colleges in Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram, and Chengalpattu districts to remain shut. The government also asked IT companies to allow their employees to work from home because of the heavy rains.

(With inputs from agencies)