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Schools and colleges in some parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry remained closed today as heavy rains were forecast due to the impact of Cyclone Fengal brewing over the Bay of Bengal.
Schools and colleges will remain closed in Chennai, Chengalpattu, and Cuddalore on Friday, while in Puducherry, they will be shut on Friday and Saturday.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the deep depression over the Southwest Bay of Bengal has been moving north-northeastwards and is likely to develop into a cyclonic storm.
"It lay centred at 2330 hours IST yesterday about 240 kilometres northeast of Trincomalee, 330 kilometres east-southeast of Nagappattinam, 390 kilometres east-southeast of Puducherry and 430 kilometres southeast of Chennai," the Met office said today.
Deep depression over Southwest Bay of Bengal
The Deep Depression over Southwest Bay of Bengal moved north-northeastwards with a speed of 9 Kmph during past 6 hours and lay centred at 2330 hours IST of yesterday, the 28th November 2024 over the same region near latitude 10.1°N… pic.twitter.com/fWrHcATwJS
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) November 28, 2024
It is very likely to cross the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram close to Puducherry on Saturday morning as a depression with a wind speed of 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph.
Rain Prediction In Tamil Nadu, Puducherry
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, which have been witnessing incessant rainfall for the past few days, are bracing for more showers with the possibility of Cyclone Fengal crossing the coasts near Chennai.
The IMD has predicted heavy to very heavy rain in Tamil Nadu's Chennai, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Ariyalur and Thanjavur districts on Friday and Saturday.
Heavy rain is also likely to occur over Puducherry.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and his Puducherry counterpart, N Rangasamy, have chaired meetings to assess the preparedness for the heavy rains and the potential cyclonic storm.
How Cyclone Fengal Was Named
The process of naming tropical cyclones is overseen by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
The five tropical cyclone regional bodies - ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee, WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones, RA I Tropical Cyclone Committee, RA IV Hurricane Committee, and RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee - establish pre-designated lists of names which are proposed by WMO Members' National Meteorological and Hydrological Services.
The selection of names is also based on their familiarity with the people in each region.
When a new name is selected, some of the following factors are considered: Short in character length for ease of use in communication; easy to pronounce; appropriate significance in different languages; and uniqueness - same names cannot be used in other regions.
The WMO says that assigning names to tropical cyclones makes tracking and discussing specific storms more "straightforward, especially when multiple storms are active simultaneously."
As per the WMO, Fengal's name was suggested by Saudi Arabia.