Operations at the Chennai airport were suspended on Saturday due to gutsy winds and heavy rains caused by cyclone 'Fengal', resulting in multiple flight cancellations and impacting hundreds of passeng

Normal life was paralysed in Chennai, its neighboring districts, parts of northern Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry on Saturday as cyclonic storm Fengal (pronounced as Feinjal) lay centered about 50 km southeast of Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram).

Cyclone Fengal is set to make landfall in Tamil Nadu, bringing heavy rainfall and winds up to 90 km/h. The IMD has issued warnings for several districts, including Chennai, with disruptions expected in transport and flight operations.

Over 50 flights were cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at the airport and in neighbouring states.

Cyclone Fengal made landfall near Puducherry and is likely to cross the Tamil Nadu coasts in the next three to four hours.

The cyclone is likely to continue moving west-northwestward and cross the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram, near Puducherry, as a cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 70-80 km/h, gusting to 90 km/h, during the afternoon of November 30.

Cyclonic storm Fengal has commenced making landfall close to Puducherry and it may approximately take 4 hours for it to cross the coast completely, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

Heavy rains lashed India’s south and a major airport shut operations as cyclone Fengal made landfall late on Saturday.  Cyclones -- the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the northwestern Pacific -- are a regular and deadly menace in

As of Saturday morning, Cyclone Fengal was located 110 km southeast of Chennai and 120 km east-northeast of Puducherry, moving westward at 13 kmph. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts landfall near Puducherry by night,

Passengers are advised to check with the railway authorities for further updates and to plan their journeys accordingly.