7 of a family killed in Tamil Nadu landslide

At least seven members of a family have been killed in a landslide that hit the Tamil Nadu temple town of Tiruvannamalai on Monday, leading to a boulder falling on a residential building.

The second landslide occurred a day after the first one on Sunday at 4:30pm on the lower slopes of the famous Annamalaiyar Hill following heavy rainfall caused by Cyclone Fengal, NDTV reports.

The cyclone crossed the coast Saturday afternoon near the capital Chennai and battered the district.

Rescue operations aided by a team of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai were ongoing. However, heavy rain and the threat of another boulder balanced precariously further uphill were hampering rescue efforts.

The second landslide was at a spot near a local temple.

Heavy downpours have occurred in the southern state since Fengal made landfall.

That rainfall continued into Monday, two days later, with Viluppuram district in northern Tamil Nadu battling unprecedented floods. Washed out bridges and overflowing virtually blocked access to villages and residential colonies, as the flooding also damaging acres of crops and affecting rail traffic.

Over in western Tamil Nadu, parts of the Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts also saw record floods. Uthangarai in Krishnagiri saw 50 cm of rainfall in 24 hours as of 8:30am, while Villupuram received 42 cm, Harur in Dharmapuri 33 cm, and Cuddalore and Tiruvannamalai 16 cm.