Fengal weakens; Puducherry, TN reel after heavy downpour

After making landfall near Puducherry on November 30, Cyclone Fengal weakened on Sunday, but torrential downpour under its influence paralyzed the Union territory, with the Army stepping in to evacuate those stranded in inundated streets.

- Press Trust of India

Villupuram in neighboring Tamil Nadu also suffered following heavy rains and inundation, with chief minister MK Stalin terming the rainfall in the district as "unprecedented".

Late on Sunday night, officials in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu said that about five to seven people were feared trapped after a large boulder fell on their houses on the lower slopes of the famous Annamalaiyar Hill following heavy rainfall in the district.

The rescue operations are currently underway by the authorities even as the town witnessed heavy downpour, an official said.

Earlier, operations at the Chennai airport, which were suspended since Saturday, resumed past midnight but many flights saw cancellations and delays initially, officials said. However, later in the day, operations were normal.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Fengal has weakened into a deep depression.

"The Cyclonic Storm FENGAL (pronounced as FEINJAL) over north coastal Tamil Nadu & Puducherry remained practically stationary during past 12 hours, weakened into a deep depression and lay centered at 11.30 hours IST of today, the 1st December 2024 over the same region near latitude 12.0°N and longitude 79.8°E, close to Puducherry, about 30 km north of Cuddalore, 40 km east of Villupuram and 120 km south-southwest of Chennai," the weather office said in a post on X.