The Indian weather services on Wednesday issued an alert for “intense rain” in the south-east of the country, threatened by tropical storm “Fengal”, likely to develop into a cyclone.
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This depression “will probably continue to progress in a north-northeast direction and intensify to become a cyclone in the next twelve hours,” they specified.
Storm “Fengal”, which runs along the eastern coasts of Sri Lanka, is then expected to move towards the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, in southeastern India, according to forecasts.
First State Chief Executive MK Stalin asked fishermen to “immediately return” to their ports and urged all residents to “take precautions while outside.”
Schools were also closed as a precaution in several districts in the region.
In Sri Lanka, emergency services were searching for six children and two adults whose tractor and trailer were swept away by torrential rains which fell on the east of the island, authorities announced.
Cyclones, the equivalent of North Atlantic hurricanes and Pacific typhoons, are a common threat in the Indian Ocean.
Deadly floods and landslides caused by rain are common in South Asia, especially during the monsoon. Experts say climate change is increasing its frequency and severity.
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