Schools, colleges closed today in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district due to heavy rainfall

All schools and colleges will remain shut in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district due to heavy rainfall, announced District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya on Monday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted light thunderstorms and lightning with light to moderate rain in the district today, on December 2.

IMD predicts heavy rainfall

As per IMD, areas in the Nilgiris district are expected to receive heavy rainfall with light thunderstorms and lightning. The depression, a remnant of the cyclone Fengal, moved west-northwestward at a speed of 7 km/h over the past six hours.

Several parts of Tamil Nadu recorded heavy rainfall on Sunday after cyclone Fengal made landfall on the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Saturday night.

Cyclone Fengal update

The cyclonic storm Fengal has weakened and is likely to transform into a “well-marked low-pressure area over north interior Tamil Nadu during the next six hours,” said IMD.

“The depression (remnant of Cyclonic Storm Fengal) over the north coastal Tamil Nadu & Puducherry moved west-northwestward at a speed of 7 km/h during the past six hours and was centred at 23:30 IST on December 1, 2024, near latitude 12.2°N and longitude 79.2°E, about 40 km northwest of Villupuram, 70 km west-northwest of Puducherry, about 80 km northwest of Cuddalore, and 140 km southwest of Chennai,” IMD posted on X.

"It is likely to continue moving west-northwestward and gradually weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area over north interior Tamil Nadu during the next six hours. The remnant low-pressure area is expected to emerge over the southeast and adjoining east-central Arabian Sea off the north Kerala-Karnataka coasts around December 3, 2024. The system is being continuously monitored by the Doppler Weather Radar at Karaikal," the IMD added.

Rainfall in Puducherry

Union Territory Puducherry has become one of the worst-impacted areas due to the cyclone, as it received approximately 48.6 cm of rainfall over the past 24 hours, leading to severe flooding, electricity shutdown, etc.

“This has been one of the highest rainfalls in Puducherry. In the last 24 hours, we recorded 48.6 cm of rainfall. The drainage infrastructure is not capable of draining such a large quantity of downpour in a day. Electric substations have been submerged, and we had to shut down the power supply. A lot of trees have fallen, many on electric lines, and those lines need to be restored. By tonight, all substations will be re-energized,” said Lieutenant Governor Kailashnathan Puducherry.