Cyclone Fengal has begun making landfall near the Puducherry coast, and is expected to cross the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coast within the next few hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has confirmed.

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.

Cyclonic storm 'Fengal' began making landfall near Puducherry on Saturday, according to an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The landfall process is expected to continue for approximately four hours,

Over 50 flights were cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at the airport and in neighbouring states.

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,

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.

The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh, with the cyclone likely to make landfall today evening

Authorities in Puducherry and Chennai have ramped up safety measures as Cyclone Fengal is set to hit the coast. Beaches and tourist spots are closed, and large-scale deployment of security personnel is in place.

Chennai airport on Friday announced suspension of operations till 4 am on December 1 following heavy inundation of runways and the taxiway, due to the cyclone 'Fengal' triggered rains and the 'adverse weather condition,

The airport was earlier closed from noon to 7pm on Saturday as airlines cited difficulties in landing and taking off due to heavy crosswinds.

The Chennai airport will remained closed till 4 a.m. on Sunday (December 1, 2024) due to adverse weather conditions prevailing in the city in view of Cyclone Fengal. Over 100 flights have been cancelled so far.