The Department of Revenue and Disaster Management has set up toll-free numbers 112 and 1077 to receive distress calls from the public. People can also seek help through the WhatsApp number 9488981070.

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

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.

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has mobilized teams to manage flooding from Cyclone Fengal, using powerful pumps in waterlogged Karapakkam. The IMD forecasts a landfall in Tamil Nadu with high winds.

Cyclone Fengal - pronounced 'Feinjal' - is likely to make landfall this evening between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram with a wind speed of 70-80 km per hour, gusting up to 90 kmph.