Cyclone Fengal: The cyclone that battered Tamil Nadu Premium

How Cyclone Fengal changed course, leaving a trail of destruction in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, claiming 12 lives and affecting 14 districts; while the Tamil Nadu government says it was prepared for heavy rainfall, the complex and slow-moving cyclone posed a challenge to weather experts and the administration alike

On the evening of December 1, 2024, a family of four and three of their neighbours huddled together under a metal roofed single-room house, in VOC Nagar, a residential area at the foot of the Arunachala hill in Tiruvannamalai district. They listened as torrential rains brought by Cyclone Fengal pounded the district in interior Tamil Nadu.

S. Meenakshi, 27, who lives opposite the house, recalls the tragedy that occurred shortly after. Her sister, R. Meena, 26, and Meena’s husband, N. Rajkumar, 32, both brick kiln workers, had returned home the previous evening as their workplace, located 20 kilometres from the temple town, had flooded. Meenakshi says the couple had been working in the brick kiln for a few years and had often stayed there for weeks to complete tasks before returning to VOC Nagar.

That Sunday was special for Rajkumar as he had come back to his children — 9-year-old Goutham and 7-year-old Iniya — after working tirelessly for a month at the kiln, she says. Meenakshi’s daughter, Ramya, 13, had also gone to Rajkumar’s house along with two neighbours — Vinothini, 14, and Maha, 10.

“Around 4.30 p.m., we heard a deafening sound. Meena called out to me and I rushed out,” says Meenakshi. “The next few moments were a blur. A heap of mud, boulders, and debris came rolling down the hill. Meena rushed inside to bring the children out but it was too late. My sister’s home was buried,” she says, sobbing.

All the seven occupants were instantly killed. Other houses in the neighbourhood were completely or partially destroyed. Relatives searched for loved ones in the slush amid relentless rains until a rescue team, led by Tiruvannamalai Collector D. Baskara Pandian, reached the site. They evacuated nearly 250 families from the hills, moved them to community halls in Tiruvannamalai town, and gave them food and medicines.

The seven bodies were recovered after a nearly 20-hour operation by a 170-member team, including 35 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force, and a sniffer dog the next evening. “When the team retrieved two bodies from the spot, they saw that Rajkumar had been holding Iniya tightly,” recalls a senior official.

While heavy rainfall during the northeast monsoon is common at this time of the year in Tamil Nadu, the State and the Union Territory of Puducherry did not expect Cyclone Fengal to cause such widespread devastation when it crossed the eastern coast on the night of November 30, 2024. On December 1, 2024, unusually heavy rainfall (40 cm to 50 cm) was recorded in many places in Puducherry and the northern and northwestern parts of Tamil Nadu. Among the coastal districts, Chennai was less affected.