CHENNAI: Red alert may continue in North Tamil Nadu including Chennai and neighbouring districts, Puducherry and South Andhra Pradesh coasts after cyclone Fengal’s landfall, according to the IMD’s latest update.
The cyclonic storm over Southwest Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 13 kmph during past 6 hours and lay centred at about 120 km east-northeast of Puducherry, 110 km southeast of Chennai, 200 km north-northeast of Nagappattinam and 420 km north of Trincomalee.
It is likely to move nearly westwards 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 evening of 30th November.
The system is being continuously monitored, said the IMD.
A red alert remains in effect for seven districts, including Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore districts, and Puducherry, with isolated heavy to very heavy rain and extremely heavy rain at a few locations.
An orange alert has been issued for isolated heavy to very heavy rain in Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam districts, and the Karaikal area.
Meanwhile, the system has slowed down in the last couple of hours.
As the rest of the city is seeing a break in rains, suburbs and Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur Chengalpattu and Ranipet will continue to see rains, said independent weather blogger K Srikanth.
Fengal is expected to make landfall later today between North Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts, with wind speed upto 90 kmph.
The cyclone's main rain bands have brought rain to Chennai from around 3:30 am on Saturday and has persisted since then in varying intensities.
On December 1, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in interior Tamil Nadu, whereas, on December 2 and 3, the isolated places in the state may receive only heavy rainfall.