Cyclone Fengal makes Saturday night landfall
  Cyclone Fengal, hit the coasts along the North of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry late Saturday night, triggering heavy rainfall and strong winds over coastal districts of north Tamil Nadu – specifically inundating low level areas. As many as three people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in the state’s capital.  The arriving cyclone also disrupted flights and EMU train services in Chennai. Flight operations at the Chennai airport remain suspended until 4 a.m. Sunday citing “adverse weather conditions” that led to 226 flights being cancelled. 20 flights which were to arrive in Chennai were diverted to either Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Tiruchi, Guwahati and/or Madurai. Suburban services between Chennai Beach and Velachery in the MRTS Section were suspended since Saturday afternoon as gale winds prevailed in Chennai.  
 The Indian Meteorological Department evaluated that the cyclone is “likely to move west south-westwards and cross Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram close to Puducherry as a cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph during next 2 hours.” The landfall process will continue during the same period, it estimated.  
 Saturday had Chennai’s Meenambakkam and Nungambakkam experiencing up to 11.4 cm rainfall whilst Puducherry and Cuddalore recorded 17 cm and 7 cm rainfall respectively. At least 53 major roads were waterlogged in various parts of the city, and seven subways were closed. Furthermore, several arterial roads wore a deserted look as most residents stayed indoors. 
 The Hindu’s Profiles