Cyclone Fengal to make landfall in north Tamil Nadu coast, trigger heavy rainfall: IMD DG

Cyclone ‘FENGAL’, pronounced as ‘FEINJAL’ is centered over the southwest Bay of Bengal and is very likely to move westwards and hit the north Tamil Nadu coast around this evening with a wind speed of 70-80kmph, informed IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.

Speaking to ANI Mohapatra said, “Cyclone Fengal is centred over the southwest Bay of Bengal...It is very likely to move slowly westwards and hit the north Tamil Nadu coast around this evening and when it approaches the coast, it is very likely to have wind speed of 70-80 km/hr.”

He further revealed that the heavy winds may uproot small trees, cause damage to houses, telephone lines and power lines. Moreover, the DG warned that heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over South Andhra Pradesh and North Coastal Tamil Nadu districts in the next 24 hours.

#WATCH | Delhi | On #CycloneFengal, IMD DG Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra says, "Cyclone Fengal is centred over the southwest Bay of Bengal...It is very likely to move slowly westwards and hit the north Tamil Nadu coast around this evening and when it approaches the coast, it is very… pic.twitter.com/nNBCIBDNwF

— ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2024

“There are chances of rainfall over 20cm in Chennai leading to the possibility of inundation in low-lying areas and cities like Chennai, Mahabalipuram. Heavy rain will cause visibility problems and cause traffic accidents. So, people should not come out of their homes and should stay in safe places,” Mohapatra warned.

He also expected huge losses to standing crops and advised farmers to stay indoors. He also advised fishermen not to venture into the sea or any shipping containers or boats to venture into the sea. He called upon everyone to be alert and stay indoors to avoid any kind of untoward incident in the next few hours.

Meanwhile, heavy to very heavy rainfall has been recorded in the past 24 hours at a few places, especially over the North coast of Tamil Nadu and some places of South Andhra Pradesh.

Apart from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, parts of south interior Karnataka and Kerala are likely to receive heavy to moderate rainfall on the impact of the cyclone. On the other hand, Odisha is also experiencing light to moderate rainfall in several places.