Cyclone Fengal kills 19 in India and Sri Lanka

Seven missing after mudslide in southern India, with 470,000 sheltering in temporary relief camps in Sri Lanka

Rescuers work to remove debris after a landslide triggered by torrential rain in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. AFP

Emergency workers were on Monday searching for seven missing people including five children feared trapped in a mudslide caused by heavy rain in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu after Cyclone Fengal hit.

At least 19 people have been killed across India and Sri Lanka after the ferocious storm made landfall in Tamil Nadu state, where three people died. In Sri Lanka, 16 people were killed, with heavy rain affecting more than 130,000 families and nearly 470,000 people taking shelter in temporary relief camps, the Disaster Management Centre in Colombo said.

The cyclone had been brewing over the Bay of Bengal for the past week and moved further into the Indian Ocean, bringing intense rainfall in the southern state – up to 560mm – causing severe flooding.

The territory of Puducherry, a former French colony, was deluged with 460mm of rain, the heaviest rainfall in three decades, local government officials said, prompting the deployment of the army and disaster response force to evacuate stranded people from inundated streets.

Emergency workers were scouring the site of a mudslide after seven were reported missing when a huge rock and mud crashed on to a house in the foothills in Chidambaram Nagar, in the Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu late on Sunday.

The missing were identified as Rajkumar, 30, his wife, 24, their two young children and three children of their relatives.

"The heavy rain has loosened the soil, causing the boulder to fall. Rescue operations are continuing despite challenging weather conditions," said Bhaskar Pandian, senior district officer.

The cyclone weakened into a low pressure weather system as it moved further inland, bringing thunderstorms.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of heavy rain in Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for the next 48 hours.

Many roads and bridges were flooded and nearly 50 trains were disrupted or cancelled on Monday. Authorities in several districts in the southern states closed schools and educational institutions, as weather officials said flash flooding was a danger. Relief and restoration work was under way.

“The cyclone effect will continue as it moves from east to west, possibly reaching the Arabian Sea,” said Rajavel Manickam of the IMD. Similar conditions are expected all week, he added.

Cyclones are a regular feature in the Bay of Bengal and the northern Indian Ocean. Scientists warn that such storms are becoming more frequent and powerful as the world heats up due to climate change driven by burning fossil fuels.

Cyclone Fengal formed in the wake of Dana, which hit India’s east coast in October. It is the fourth cyclonic storm to hit India this year.

India’s coastline on the Bay of Bengal – the largest bay in the world – is a hotbed of tropical cyclones and is prone to extreme climatic events. Eight of the 10 deadliest cyclones on record have originated over the bay in the past two decades, according to Weather Underground.

However, recent advancements in weather forecasting and cyclone warning systems have helped authorities to carry out mass evacuations before storms make landfall.