A family of seven lost their lives in Tiruvannamalai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Sunday after a massive boulder, dislodged by a landslide triggered by Cyclone Fengal’s torrential rains, crushed their home.
On Sunday, the family of seven, including five children, were inside their home as heavy rains triggered a landslide on the 2,000ft Arunachala Hill in Tiruvannamalai’s VOC Nagar. The incident occured around 4.30pm when mud and rocks swept into the area.
A massive 80-tonne boulder reportedly rolled down, crushing their house and leaving no survivors.
Rescue operations involving a 170-member team, including 35 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), recovered the bodies nearly 20 hours later on Monday.
The victims were identified as Rajkumar (32), his wife Meena (26), their children Gautham (9) and Iniya (7), and relatives Maha (12), Vinodini (14), and Ramya (12), The News Minute reported.
A local administrative official, D Baskara Pandian, told the media: “Though the rain has subdued, there are possibilities of boulders tumbling down due to rain earlier. We have evacuated 50 to 80 people from the locality. Three houses were completely damaged in the landslide and a few houses were partly damaged.”
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin extended his condolences to the bereaved families and announced financial assistance of Rs500,000 (£4,600) for each.
On Monday, a second landslide struck near a local temple in the same town, raising fears of further calamities. Heavy rainfall, attributed to Fengal’s remnants, has caused severe flooding, hampered rescue operations, and heightened the risk of additional landslides across the region.
Cyclone Fengal made landfall on 1 December, with wind speeds reaching up to 90kmph, wreaking havoc across Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, and Tiruvannamalai districts of the state.
The cyclone caused significant damage to roads and power infrastructure, impacting approximately 69,000,00 families and 1,50,00,000 people. Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai, and Kallakurichi witnessed over 50cm of rainfall in a single day, equivalent to the average rainfall for an entire season.
Heavy rains continue to batter the state, with northern districts like Villupuram and western regions like Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri facing unprecedented floods, washed-out bridges, and crop damage.
Floodwaters have swept away vehicles, including buses, and disrupted rail and air travel. The remnants of Fengal, now a strong low-pressure area, are expected to bring heavy rainfall to Kerala and Karnataka as it moves toward the Arabian Sea.
