(MENAFN- Live Mint) Puducherry has announced the closure of schools on December 2 amid torrential rain due to Cyclone Fengal. All educational institutions will remain closed on Monday in light of an orange alert for heavy rains in Puducherry.
Puducherry Education Minister A Namachivayam on Sunday said due to continuous heavy rains, a holiday has been declared tomorrow in all the government and government-aided schools, private schools and all colleges in Puducherry, reported ANI.
Also Read | Cyclone Fengal: Over 19 killed in India and Sri Lanka
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Fengal weakened into a deep depression on Sunday after making landfall near Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast on November 30. Puducherry recorded 46 cm rainfall in 24 hour period, crossing the previous best 21 cm record of October 31, 2004, and breaking a 30 year record, PTI reported.
Also Read | Cyclone Fengal LIVE: Puducherry sees highest rainfall in 30 years
Several areas of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu were inundated as heavy rains submerged roads, streets and houses. Authorities sought help from the army to rescue trapped individuals and evacuate stranded persons in inundated streets.
The fury of nature took into its grasp not only the union territory but also municipality Villupuram. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin termed the rainfall in the district as 'unprecedented.' Flights from Chennai airport were temporarily suspended on Saturday and the shutdown was extended till 4:00 am on Sunday.
Also Read | Bengaluru set for six days of rain due to cyclone Fengal, predicts IMD
The cyclonic storm caused more than 19 fatalities in India and Sri Lanka, Reuters reported. Incidents of uprooting of trees, people drowning, being electrocuted, power outage and inundation of subways were also reported. Chennai Traffic police and Metro authorities issued guidelines, advising people against venturing out into waterlogged roads and parking lots.
"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 1130 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 department said in a post on X.
Cyclone Fengal brought as much rainfall in some parts of Tamil Nadu equivalent to a year's in 36 hours. Tamil Nadu's Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue and Disaster Management, Rajesh Lakhani said certain areas received around 56 centimetres of rain, reported ANI.
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