Chennai/Puducherry, 30 Nov

Heavy rains pounded several parts of north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Saturday, under the impact of Cyclone 'Fengal,' affecting normalcy and prompting evacuation.

The downpour was accompanied by gusty winds and what began as intermittent rainfall in coastal regions on the night of 29 November, gradually became steady leading to inundation in several areas.

Operations at the Chennai airport were suspended between 12.30pm and 7pm. In the neighbouring union territory Puducherry, people living in low-lying areas were evacuated, District Collector A Kulothungan told PTI.

The union territory administration sent SMS alerts to around 12 lakh residents cautioning them to remain vigilant in view of 'Fengal' likely to make landfall near the UT later in the day.

In Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin reviewed the situation at the State Emergency Operations Centre with top officials and later told reporters that all precautionary measures have already been taken and camps have been set up for people of vulnerable areas. Food was also being distributed to them.

Many parts of the city suffered inundation and trees were uprooted. Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) authorities said 22,000 personnel including engineers, officials and sanitary workers were on the job and a total of 1,686 motor pumps of various capacities including 25-hp and 100-hp were in use. As many as 484 tractor-mounted heavy-duty pumps and 137 pumps of 100-hp capacity have been deployed.

The GCC said work was on in a 'war-footing' to clear waterlogging in 134 spots and out of the 9 trees that fell, 5 have been cleared. Out of the 22 subways, traffic flow is smooth in 21. The Ganesapuram subway had already been closed for tasks related to railway bridge work.

Reservoirs that cater to the city's drinking water needs such as Chembarmbakkam and Poondi received copious inflow.

Many residents of low-lying Madipakkam parked their cars on both sides of nearby Velachery flyover.

Residents of similar vulnerable areas too parked their vehicles in safe spots. Roads were largely deserted and civic workers, police, and fire and rescue personnel, deployed in vulnerable places performed rain-related relief/rescue tasks.

State-run transport corporations operated skeleton services in Chennai and nearby areas. Railway officials said EMU train services in all suburban sections in Chennai division will operate with reduced frequency until further notice. An official said that by and large, train (including express/superfast) services have not been affected, though there was some delay.

Due to strong winds with velocities ranging between 65-73 kmph, suburban services between Chennai Beach and Velachery in the MRTS Section were suspended from 12.15 pm onwards, officials announced.

Chennai Metro Rail said its services were operational without any glitches and informed public of parking areas in specific stations that were prone to inundation.

Airport authorities declared suspension of all operations till 7 pm starting from 12.30 pm.

Departure and arrival schedule of both domestic and international flights were affected. Some of the flights were diverted to Bengaluru and Tiruchirappalli and at least 18 flights were cancelled and 12 other flights were delayed.

As the sea was pretty rough, police put up barricades blocking access to noted beaches including the Marina and Mamallapuram. State-run Aavin milk supply was not affected and power supply continued to be normal in many areas.

The government had already declared November 30 a holiday for educational institutions and requested IT firms to make their employees work from home.

In Puducherry, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Arakonam has arrived to engage in relief and rehabilitation works.

According to Collector Kulothungan, cyclone Fengal was expected to cross the coast in the evening. Control rooms have been opened in the collectorate and also in the line departments.

The entire stretch of beach road and also several tourist spots were closed to restrict public movement. Schools and colleges remained closed today.