Coimbatore weather: Heavy rains due to Cyclone Fengal, IMD sounds alert for Tamil Nadu districts — All you need to know

Coimbatore weather: Meteorologists predict very heavy rainfall in Coimbatore district and its surrounding areas in Tamil Nadu today due to the impact of Cyclone Fengal, according to a report by Asianet News. The rains may lead to flooding in some areas of Coimbatore before weakening throughout the day, while clouds will persist, it stated.

It added that this is the first time in 47 years (since 1977) that Coimbatore has experienced cyclonic rains.

IMD Issues Heavy Rain Alert for South India

According to an ANI report, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall to some districts of Tamil Nadu and across south India due to Cyclone Fengal.

The IMD has issued a “heavy rain alert” for north interior Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka on December 3. It said that a low-pressure area is likely to emerge into the southeast and adjoining east-central Arabian Sea off the north Kerala-Karnataka coasts today, the report added.

CM MK Stalin Urges ₹2,000 crore from NDRF

Amid the rains and resulting devastation in the state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately release ₹2,000 crore from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for restoration and rehabilitation work, the report added.

Stalin said that 14 districts of Tamil Nadu have been “unprecedently” affected, impacting 1.5 crore people, and asked for the Centre to also depute a central team to undertake a comprehensive assessment of damages, it said.

Fengal has inundated 2.11 lakh hectares of farmland and damaged critical infrastructure in the state, he added in posts on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).

Stalin further said a dedicated workforce comprising 38,000 government officials and 1,12,000 trained first responders are actively engaged in rescue and relief operations. He said the state government has estimated that ₹2,475 crore is required for temporary restoration efforts. “Despite our best efforts, the scale of disaster has overwhelmed the state's resources,”"he added.

(With inputs from ANI)