Cyclone Fengal makes landfall amid heavy rains in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Chennai airport shut | DETAILS
Parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry experienced heavy rains due to the landfall process of cyclone Fengal. Senior officials in three southern states, including Andhra Pradesh assigned to supervise and coordinate related tasks with district authorities are stationed in their respective districts.
Cyclone Fengal: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday night said cyclone Fengal (cyclonic storm) has commenced making landfall close to Puducherry and it may take 4 hours for it to cross the coast completely.
"It is likely to move west southwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram close to Puducherry as a cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph during next 3 hours. The landfall process will continue during the same period," IMD posted on X.
Havy rains expected in Nellore, Tirupati and Chittoor
The weather departed predicted light to moderate rainfall or thundershowers at many places over south coastal and Rayalaseema regions while extremely heavy rains are expected at one or two places over SPSR-Nellore, Tirupati and Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday.
According to IMD, thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are likely at one or two places over South Coastal and Rayalaseema due to Cyclone Fengal.
"The Cyclonic Storm “FENGAL” [pronounced as FEINJAL] over Southwest Bay of Bengal moved west-southwestwards with a speed of 7 kmph during past 6 hours and lay centred at 2030 hours IST of today, the 30th November 2024 over the southwest Bay of Bengal close to North Tamil Nadu - Puducherry coasts near latitude 12.2°N and longitude 80.1°E, about 15 km away from the coast, 50 km south-southwest of Mahabalipuram, 40 km northeast of Puducherry and 90 km south of Chennai," another post of IMD on X read.
Squally winds with speed reaching 50 Kmph may prevail over South Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema.
Andhra CM reviews relief operations
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the rains situation with the officials of Disaster Management, District Collectors and departments concerned, official sources said. Naidu instructed the officials to assess the situation in real time and take appropriate measures.
He said people should be alerted with continuous monitoring through Real Time Governance (RTG). The CM asked Collectors of the heavy rain-prone districts to keep the disaster teams ready as part of precautionary measures to prevent loss of life and property.
Chennai airport shutdown due to adverse weather condition
Meanwhile, Chennai airport announced the suspension of operations till 4 am Sunday following the inundation of runways after heavy rains and the 'adverse weather condition' due to cyclone 'Fengal', Over 50 flights have been cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports in Chennai and neighbouring states.
55 flights cancelled, 19 others diverted in Chennai
Official sources here said apart from the cancellation of 55 flights, 19 others were diverted after two runways and the taxiway were inundated following heavy rains. The services include both domestic and international flights. Earlier in the day, when the airport was operational, at least 12 flights were delayed.
The Chennai airport in a post on 'X' said that a team of senior officials was closely monitoring the situation to facilitate the earliest resumption of operations as meteorological conditions improve.
"A WebEx meeting was conducted on 30th November 2024 at 1630 hrs, involving all stakeholders and officials from the IMD...Following consultations with AAI Headquarters and considering feedback from stakeholders, it has been decided to extend the closure of operations through a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) until 0400 IST on 1st December 2024. We recommend passengers check with their respective airlines regarding their flights," it said in a post on 'X.
The complete disruption of services left the passengers stranded and according to rough estimates from official sources, over 10,000 people could have been affected due to cancellations and diversions.
1,000 passengers continued to stay back inside Chennai airport
Nearly 1,000 passengers continued to stay back inside the airport premises to take the first available flight from here to their respective destinations.
As many as 20 flights were cancelled in Hyderabad as well which were services to and from Chennai and Tirupati.
Initially, expecting an earlier landfall of the cyclone, airport authorities had declared suspension of operations till 7 pm starting from 12.30 pm. Chennai airport authority also said IndiGo Airlines temporarily suspended flight operations, which will resume once the weather improves.
"In light of Cyclonic Storm 'Fengal' and the forecasted high crosswinds, as predicted by IMD, Chennai Airport operations will be suspended from 1230 hrs to 1900 hrs on 30.11.2024 (Today) following safety concerns raised by stakeholder airlines. We recommend passengers check with their respective airlines regarding their flights," Airports Authority of India (AAI) said in a post on X.
Pondy govt issues heavy rain alert to residents via SMS
Puducherry experienced heavy rains on Saturday, prompting the union territory administration to send SMS alerts to around 12 lakh residents cautioning them to remain vigilant in view of the approaching cyclonic storm Fengal .
Chief Minister N Rangasamy visited the rain-affected areas to review the steps taken by the Disaster Management department, especially in accommodating those evacuated from low-lying areas into relief centres.
The chief minister instructed officials to closely monitor the situation and ensure the safety of the residents.
District Collector A Kulothungan briefed the chief minister about the distribution of food packets to those staying in the shelter homes.
Control rooms established for public
According to the official, control rooms have been opened in the collectorate and also in the line departments. Toll free numbers 112, 1077 and also WhatsApp number 94889 81070 have been put in place to help people facing crisis to contact for help.
Officials ask people to stay indoors
Earlier, Puducherry officials here have asked the residents to stay indoors in view of cyclonic storm Fengal's landfall. All schools and colleges remained closed on Saturday. District Collector A Kulothungan held discussions with the officials of PWD, local administration, police and other line departments and reviewed the situation.
Meanwhile, complying with an advisory, 4,153 boats have returned to the shore and 2,229 relief camps are ready for use if needed, the state government said.