Cyclone Fengal Aftermath: IMD Forecasts 'Heavy Rainfall' In TN, Activates Orange Alert In 5 Districts

Cyclone Fengal brought heavy rainfall to Tamil Nadu, with eight districts receiving yellow alerts and five receiving orange alerts.

Tamil Nadu has been reeling under the effects of Cyclone Fengal with heavy rainfall lashing the state and no respite as heavy showers are expected to continue in several districts. 

According to the India Meteorological Department, eight districts in the state are expected to receive heavy rainfall. The weather department has issued a yellow warning for these eight districts namely Tiruchirapalli, Karur, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Theni, and Madurai. 

The weather department has also issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in five districts namely Erode, Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, and Dindigul. 

Cyclone Fengal made landfall near Puducherry on Saturday resulting in heavy rains accompanied by gusty winds. The rainfall led to inundation of several areas including portions of the premises of a government hospital and trees were uprooted in a number of places.

Southern Railway Suspends Operation 

Viluppuraam continued to bear the brunt of the remnants of the cyclone which weakened into a Well Marked Low Pressure Area on Monday. The Viluppuram town and nearby towns and villages saw rain fury and raging flood water gushing towards low-lying areas.

As the water level rose above the danger mark on an arterial bridge between Vikravandi and Mundiyampakkam in Villupuram, Southern Railway on Monday morning announced the suspension of operations in that key stretch. The announcement leads to cancellations, diversion and short termination of services including express and superfast trains.

Well-connected Villupuram provides easy access between Chennai, other northern parts of the state and the central and southern regions of Tamil Nadu. River Thenpennai was in spate affecting the northern coastal town of Cuddalore. 

Cyclone Fengal weakened into a Well Marked Low-Pressure Area on Monday, said the IMD. 

"The depression (Remnant of Cyclonic Storm “Fengal”) over north coastal Tamil Nadu & Puducherry moved nearly westwards and weakened into a Well Marked Low-Pressure Area at 0530 hrs IST of today, the 02nd December 2024, over North Interior Tamil Nadu. The remnant low-pressure area is likely to emerge over southeast and adjoining east-central Arabian Sea off north Kerala-Karnataka coasts around 3rd December 2024," said the weather department.