Chennai and neighbourhood areas in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry reported heavy rainfall on Saturday with intense continuing as the cyclone Fengal's landfall process commences at around 7pm.

In a 7:35 pm update, the IMD reported that the forward sector of the cyclone's spiral bands has already moved inland. The storm is forecast to continue moving west-southwest, crossing the northern Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram,

The cyclone is likely to continue moving west-northwestward and cross the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram, near Puducherry, as a cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 70-80 km/h, gusting to 90 km/h, during the afternoon of November 30.

Chennai: The India Meteorological Department has confirmed that Cyclone Fengal commenced landfall near Puducherry on Saturday evening. By 8.30 pm IST, Cyclone Fengal was located 40 km east-northeast of Puducherry.

Cyclone Fengal has started making landfall near Tamil Nadu's Puducherry at 5:30 PM on Saturday and it will take nearly four hours to complete. As a pre-emptive measure, the state government appealed to people to stay indoors and declared November 30 a holiday for educational institutions as a precautionary measure.

Cyclonic storm Fengal has commenced making landfall close to Puducherry and it may approximately take 4 hours for it to cross the coast completely, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

According to the IMD, the cyclone crossed the coast near Puducherry between 10:30 pm and 11:30 pm IST, with wind speeds of 70-80 kmph gusting up to 90 kmph.

W ith the slow-moving system picking up pace, the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai (RMC) announced that cyclone Fengal will cross close to Puducherry by Saturday (November

The Department of Revenue and Disaster Management has set up toll-free numbers 112 and 1077 to receive distress calls from the public. People can also seek help through the WhatsApp number 9488981070.

The cyclonic storm has progressed towards Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts and is making landfall near Puducherry, an IMD official said. A red alert has been issued for 10 districts of Tamil Nadu.

Cyclone Fengal is expected to make landfall near Puducherry later today, prompting officials to issue warnings and prepare for potential impact. Around 12 lakh residents received SMS alerts urging vigilance as heavy rains lashed the region on Saturday.