Puducherry: The Education Minister of the Union Territory, A Namachivayam, has announced that all government and private schools, as well as colleges, will remain closed on Tuesday due to heavy rainfall caused by Cyclone Fengal. The cyclone, which has brought intense weather conditions to the region, led to widespread flooding, particularly in the coastal areas of Puducherry and north Tamil Nadu. Schools and colleges in Nilgiris, Villupuram, and Cuddalore districts will also remain closed on Tuesday.
In other districts, such as Ranipet, Salem, and Tiruvannamalai, only schools will remain shut. In Kallakurichi, schools under Thirukovilur Town, and in Krishnagiri, schools under Pechampalli, Uthangarai Taluk will also remain closed due to the rains.
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On Monday, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangaswamy declared that the state government would provide Rs 5,000 in relief assistance to each ration cardholder affected by the cyclone. The funds aim to support those struggling with the impact of the severe weather.
"Due to cyclone Fengal, Puducherry received 48 per cent rainfall, which was unexpected. The Puducherry government has decided to provide relief assistance of Rs 5,000 to all ration cardholders affected by the cyclone," Rangaswamy told reporters.
"Additionally, due to heavy rainfall, 10,000 hectares of crops in the Puducherry state have been damaged. Therefore, we have decided to provide Rs 30,000 per hectare to affected farmers. Cyclone Fengal has left a trail of destruction in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. The recent floods have damaged 50 boats, and the government has announced a relief package of Rs 10,000 for their repair," he added.
Severe flooding in Sankaraparani River area
The Sankaraparani River in Puducherry was among the hardest-hit areas, with more than 200 homes in NR Nagar submerged in floodwaters. Many residents remain stranded, as rescue teams from the Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) continue to work tirelessly to evacuate affected families and provide assistance. Boats have been deployed to navigate the flooded streets and rescue people in danger.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Fengal weakened into a deep depression after making landfall near the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast on November 30. However, the storm's impact was still felt heavily across the region, with Puducherry recording 46 cm of rainfall within a 24-hour period. This broke the previous rainfall record of 21 cm set in October 2004, marking the heaviest rainfall in the area in over 30 years.
"The Cyclonic Storm FENGAL (pronounced as FEINJAL) over north coastal Tamil Nadu & Puducherry remained practically stationary during the past 12 hours, weakened into a deep depression, and lay centered at 11:30 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 last week in a post on X.
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Published: 03 Dec 2024, 07:39 am IST
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