Cyclone Fengal will reach southeast India this Saturday after leaving 12 dead in Sri Lanka

Cyclone Fengal is heading towards the southeast coast of India, after leaving 12 dead in Sri Lanka last Thursday as a strong storm passes through the island, prompting alerts for rains that could be extremely strong and winds exceeding 80 km/h in southern Indian states.

As confirmed in a bulletin by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Fengal will touch the coast of the continent this Saturday.

It is expected to leave heavy to extremely heavy rains in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and in the union territory of Puducherry.

On December 1 and 2, the IMD expects Fengal to move westwards, leaving heavy to very heavy rainfall in the states of Karnataka and Kerala.

Regarding the wind, the IMD estimates that there will be winds of more than 80 km/h that could reach 90 km/h in the southwest of the Bay of Bengal, especially on the southeast coast of India and in western Sri Lanka.

The sea conditions will be very hard for navigation, which is why the Indian authorities recommend that the fishing fleets of the territories affected by Fengal that they do not go out to fish or that they suspend the activities that are underway.

The IMD has also issued alerts for possible flash floods in the next 24 hours in several districts of coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and in Puducherry.

The Indian authorities expect that the impact of the cyclone will cause interruptions in traffic, problems in the most populated cities in the area – notably Chennai (Madras) and Puducherry -, damage to crops, interruptions in connectivity and telephone signal, and breaking of tree branches.

Therefore, it asks the population to stay in safe spaces throughout November 30 and plan their car trips in advance, if these are necessary.

The landslides and flooding caused by Cyclone Fengal as it passed through Sri Lanka, Even as a strong storm, it caused 12 deaths, including children, and the rains forced the displacement of thousands of people in the island nation.

The Bay of Bengal usually experiences cyclones between April and May, and between October and November. However, in recent years, supported by its meteorological satellites, India has managed to avoid catastrophes like the one in 1999, when a similar cyclone hit the state of Odisha and left more than 9,000 dead.