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Cyclone Fengal made landfall on November 30 between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram on the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Three people have died due to the rain-related incidents in Tamil Nadu, news agency UNI quoted KKSSR Ramachandran, the state’s minister for revenue and disaster management, as stating.
“Latest observations indicate that the center of the cyclone is crossing the coast. It is very 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 the next 1 hour,” the IMD said in its 11.30 pm bulletin.
“After landfall, it will continue to move west-southwestwards and weaken gradually into a deep depression during next 6 hours. The system is being continuously monitored by the Doppler Weather Radar at Chennai,” the IMD bulletin added.
As per IMD, the forward sector of spiral bands associated with the cyclone entered land at around 7 pm on November 30.
Director of Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, S Balachandran was also quoted as stating in media reports that Fengal was a very dynamic cyclonic storm, constantly changing its speed of movement. This was because the ‘mesovortex’ of the storm was not perfectly round. Its landfall would thus take several hours to complete, as the storm’s eye moved fully inland.
Earlier on November 30, Balachandran told news agency ANI that the impact of the cyclone would be more along the coastal districts, with wind and rainfall.
In another interview with the Press Trust of India, Balachandran said moderate rain is very likely to occur in the next two to three days in North Tamil Nadu. In few places, extremely heavy rainfall is expected, he added.