Cyclone Fengal: 4 bodies recovered after 7 trapped in a house die in Tamil Nadu, ex-gratia announced

At least 4 bodies have been recovered after seven of one family died in Tamil Nadu after a large stone crushed their home due to Cyclone Fengal. Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 Lakh for the bereaved family. Initially the rescue operation was delayed as there was a huge rock over the debris which needed the help of disaster relief teams. Subsequently, the NDRF and SDRF teams along with the local police engaged in rescuing people buried under the debris.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday said Cyclone Fengal had caused "unprecedented" devastation in the state and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to facilitate the release of Rs 2,000 crore interim relief from the NDRF at once. The sum would help the administration take up temporary restoration of damaged infrastructure and the livelihood, he said. Cyclone Fengal emerged as a Low-Pressure Area on November 23 and caused unprecedented devastation across 14 districts of Tamil Nadu. Initially, it brought heavy rainfall to the districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Mayiladuthurai, the Chief Minister said in a letter to the Prime Minister. Subsequently, districts such as Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, and Villupuram experienced extremely heavy rainfall.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued a warning of significant rainfall in Kerala due to Cyclone Fengal, which has currently weakened into a low-pressure area over north interior Tamil Nadu, extending into south interior Karnataka. Meteorologists expect this system to move and develop further, potentially emerging into the southeast and east-central Arabian Sea near the northern coasts of Kerala and Karnataka around December 3.