After commencing landfall on Saturday night, Cyclone Fengal crossed the North Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts during the early hours of Sunday morning. It is likely to continue moving west-southwestward and weaken into a deep depression within the next few hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
As per the IMD, the cyclone crossed the coast near Puducherry between 10:30 pm and 11:30 pm, with the wind gusting at 70-80 kmph up to 90 kmph.
In a post on X, IMD said, "The Cyclonic Storm FENGAL crossed North Tamil Nadu & Puducherry coasts near latitude 12.05°N and longitude 79.9°E, close to Puducherry, between 2230 hrs IST and 2330 hrs IST yesterday, the 30th November as a cyclonic storm with wind speed of 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph. It lay centred at 2330 hours IST yesterday, the 30th of November over north coastal Tamilnadu & Puducherry near latitude 12.0°N and longitude 79.8°E, close to Puducherry. It will continue to move west-southwestwards slowly and weaken gradually into a deep depression during the next 3 hours."
The official statement further advised the residents in the affected areas to remain indoors and follow all instructions from local authorities to ensure their safety. Meanwhile, people living in nearby areas have been shifted to relief camps near Kalpakkam in Chengalpattu district.
Notably, Puducherry and several parts of Tamil Nadu experienced heavy rain and gusty winds, disrupting road and air services and affecting normal life, as Cyclone Fengal began making landfall. Ear;ier in another post, the weather department said, "The Cyclonic Storm 'FENGAL' [pronounced as FEINJAL] over the southwest Bay of Bengal moved west-southwestwards at a speed of 7 kmph over the past six hours and was centred at 1730 IST today, November 30, 2024, over the southwest Bay of Bengal, off the north Tamil Nadu coast near latitude 12.2°N and longitude 80.3°E. It was located approximately 40 km from the coast, 50 km south-southeast of Mahabalipuram, 60 km east-northeast of Puducherry, and 90 km south of Chennai."
(With inputs from agencies)
