Fengal To Make Landfall Today, Schools And Colleges Closed In These 4 Districts Of Tamil Nadu

The cyclonic storm over the Southwest Bay of Bengal moved northwest at 15 kmph. It was centred at 8.30 pm on Friday (November 29), about 210 km east of Puducherry and 230 km southeast of Chennai, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) said in a statement.

Fengal, initially a deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal, intensified into a cyclonic storm on Friday afternoon and is moving north-westward.

Holiday For Schools And Colleges In Chennai And 3 Other Districts: Schools and colleges in Chennai, Chengalpet, Tiruvallur, and Kancheepuram will observe a holiday today given the rain and winds in the backdrop of the cyclonic storm.

The Tamil Nadu Government has also asked district administrations in Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore, Villupuram, and Kallakurichi to take a call on closing educational institutes based on the local conditions.

Pertinently, the University of Madras’ Distance Education Institute has postponed the undergraduate examination scheduled today. They will now be held on December 14.

Heavy Rains In These Areas Today: Isolated heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy rain at one or two places is likely to occur over Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore districts and Puducherry, the RMC said.

Heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Ranipet, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam districts and Karaikal area. Tirupattur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal, Tiruchirappalli, Pudukkottai and Karur districts too will witness heavy rain at isolated places.

IT Companies Advised To Implement Work From Home: The Tamil Nadu government has urged IT companies to ask their employees to work from home on Saturday considering the risk involved in travelling amid heavy rains and gusty winds, especially in the afternoon when the cyclonic storm will make landfall.

Public Transport To Be Suspended On ECR, OMR: The government has also decided to suspend public transport on the East Coast Road (ECR) and Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) from today afternoon and has asked commuters to plan their travel accordingly.

This step is to ensure the safety of the people as upon landfall, the storm will have wind speeds from 60 to 90 kmph. The Tamil Nadu Disaster Management Authority has urged people to stay indoors and avoid non-essential travel today.

Storm Surge Warning: Storm surge of about 1-meter height above the astronomical tide is likely to inundate the low-lying areas of the coastal districts of north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during the time of landfall today, the RMC said in its statement.