Cyclone Fengal weakens; Puducherry receives highest rainfall in 30 years

Puducherry received 48.4cm rainfall in 24 hours; Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin urges Centre to send a team to assess damage

Puducherry Cyclone Fengal rains Indian Army personnel rescue people from a flooded area in the aftermath of landfall of Cyclone Fengal in Puducherry | PTI

Cyclone Fengal which brought extremely heavy rainfall to Puducherry and Tamil Nadu has weakened and it is likely to move westwards, the Indian meteorological department said in a recent alert. The weather experts have forecast extremely heavy and very heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala during the next few days.

In a recent weather update, IMD said, “ The Cyclonic Storm ‘Fengal’ over north coastal Tamil Nadu & Puducherry remained practically stationary during past 12 hours, weakened into a deep depression and lay centred at 1130 hours IST of today, the 1st December 2024 over the same region near latitude 12.0°N and longitude 79.8°E, close to Puducherry, about 30km north of Cuddalore, 40 km east of Villupuram and 120 km south-southwest of Chennai.”

The weather agency predicted that the cyclone would further move westwards and weaken into a depression. “It is likely to move westwards very slowly and weaken gradually into a depression over north Tamil Nadu during the next 12 hours,” it said. IMD said they are continuously monitoring using the Doppler Weather Radar at Karaikal.

The cyclone made landfall near Puducherry on Saturday night. Cyclone Fengal started making landfall near Puducherry around 5.30pm on Saturday and completed the process between 10.30pm and 11.30pm. 

Puducherry received extremely heavy rainfall on Saturday, the highest in 30 years. As per IMD, a cumulative rainfall of 48.4cm was recorded in Puducherry in 24 hours. The last time Puducherry received such heavy downpour was in 2001, 21.1cm.

In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin reviewed the relief measures and said restoration works are being carried out in affected areas. He added ministers have been deputed in affected districts to monitor relief activities. Stalin urged the Centre to send an expert team to assess the damage caused by the cyclone.

Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp