Cyclone Fangal causes heavy rain in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry; schools, colleges closed

Chennai:

Schools and colleges remained closed in parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry today due to forecast of heavy rain due to the impact of Cyclone Fangal forming over the Bay of Bengal.

Schools and colleges in Chennai, Chengalpattu and Cuddalore will remain closed on Friday, while those in Puducherry will remain closed on Friday and Saturday.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the deep depression over southwest Bay of Bengal is moving north-northeast and is likely to develop into a cyclonic storm.

“It lay centered about 240 km northeast of Trincomalee, 330 km east-southeast of Nagapattinam, 390 km east-southeast of Puducherry and 430 km southeast of Chennai at 2330 IST yesterday,” the weather office said today.

Deep pressure over south-western Bay of Bengal

The deep depression over southwest Bay of Bengal moved north-northeastwards at a speed of 9 kmph during last 6 hours and lay centered near 10.1°N latitude over the same area at 2330 hrs IST tomorrow, 28 November 2024. Was… pic.twitter.com/fWrHcATwJS

– India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) 28 November 2024

It is likely to cross northern Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram near Puducherry on Saturday morning as a depression, with winds ranging from 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph.

Rain forecast in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry

Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, where it has been raining continuously for the past few days, are expecting more rain as Cyclone Fengal is likely to cross the coasts near Chennai.

The IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Chennai, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Ariyalur and Thanjavur districts of Tamil Nadu on Friday and Saturday.

There is a possibility of heavy rain in Puducherry also.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and his Puducherry counterpart N Rangasamy have chaired meetings to assess preparedness for heavy rains and a possible cyclonic storm.

How was Cyclone Fengal named?

The process of naming tropical cyclones is overseen by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

The five tropical cyclone regional bodies – ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee, WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones, RA I Tropical Cyclone Committee, RA IV Typhoon Committee, and RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee – establish pre-determined lists of names that are proposed . National meteorological and hydrological services of WMO members.

The selection of names is also based on their familiarity with the people of each region.

When a new name is chosen, some of the following factors are considered: short letter length for ease of use in communication; Easy to pronounce; Appropriate importance in different languages; and exclusivity – identical names cannot be used in other regions.

The WMO says that naming tropical cyclones makes it easier to track and discuss specific storms “especially when multiple storms are active simultaneously.”

According to the WMO, the name Fengal was suggested by Saudi Arabia.