Cyclone Fengal’s impact has brought incessant heavy rainfall to Puducherry, where it made landfall near the union territory on Saturday, prompting authorities to announce a holiday for all government and private schools, as well as colleges, on Tuesday, December 3.

After making landfall between Puducherry and neighbouring Tamil Nadu on November 30, Cyclone Fengal weakened on Sunday, but torrential downpours under its influence have been taking place. The Army stepped in to evacuate stranded persons in inundated streets in the union territory. Parts of Tamil Nadu also suffered following heavy rains and inundation.

Cyclone Fengal aftermath | Key points

• Cyclone Fengal status: According to the last update by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the remnant of the cyclonic storm over north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry moved nearly westwards and weakened into a ‘Well Marked Low Pressure Area’ at 5:30 a.m. on Monday. The remnant low pressure area is likely to emerge over southeast and adjoining east-central Arabian Sea off north Kerala-Karnataka coasts around December 3, the IMD said.
• Schools closed in Puducherry: Education minister A Namachivayam announced a holiday for all government and private schools, as well as colleges, on Tuesday, December 3, due to heavy rainfall caused by Cyclone Fengal.

• Puducherry sees ‘unexpected rain’: Meanwhile, the Puducherry government on Monday said the union territory received unexpected rainfall, adding that it has decided to provide relief assistance of ₹5,000 each to all ration cardholders affected by Cyclone Fengal. “Due to cyclone Fengal, Puducherry received 48 per cent rainfall, which was unexpected. The Puducherry government has decided to provide relief assistance of ₹5,000 to all ration cardholders affected by the cyclone,” Chief Minister N Rangaswamy said.

Also Read: Cyclone Fengal: Puducherry sees record rain, schools shut; Weakened storm heads to K’taka, Kerala | Key points

• Army, NDRF’s rescue operations in Puducherry: Among the most affected in Puducherry were the areas around Sankaraparani River, where over 200 residences in NR Nagar were inundated, necessitating a rescue operation led by the Indian Army along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

• Cyclone Fengal impact in Tamil Nadu: The cyclone also resulted in extremely heavy rainfall in coastal regions of north Tamil Nadu, with Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to facilitate the release of ₹2,000 crore interim relief from the NDRF at once for the “unprecedented” devastation in the state. Stalin listed the districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Ranipet, Vellore and Tirupathur as having experienced extremely heavy rainfall and damages.

• Kerala weather: The IMD on Monday issued a warning of significant rainfall in Kerala due to Cyclone Fengal, which has currently weakened into a low-pressure area over north interior Tamil Nadu, extending into south interior Karnataka. Red alerts were issued for five northern districts–Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, and Malappuram–on Monday. Palakkad, Thrissur, Idukki, Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts are under an orange alert, while Kottayam, and Pathanamthitta were on a yellow alert.
• Karnataka weather forecast: IMD said on Monday that Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka are also expected to receive rainfall for the next two days owing to Cyclone Fengal. Bengaluru had been receiving rain since Sunday evening, and according to IMD officials, Coastal Karnataka and parts of South Interior Karnataka were likely to experience light to moderate rainfall on Tuesday. The Dakshina Kannada district administration, which was under an orange alert on Monday, is expected to receive “heavy to very heavy rainfall” in the on Tuesday as well. As a precaution, all anganwadis, government, aided, and private schools, along with pre-university colleges up to class 12, will remain closed on December 3 in Dakshina Kannada.