Cars were washed away as Cyclone Fengal caused carnage in India.

The South Pennar River overflowed due to severe rainfall, causing minibuses and cars to be swept away by the flash flood at the banks of Bambaru in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, on December 2.

Footage shows rapid water gushing out from the river, with four-wheelers lurching and half-submerged in the muddy currents.

Rescue squads, under the guidance of District Collector KM Sarayu, are currently recovering vehicles stranded in the floodwaters after the region experienced a staggering 503 mm of rainfall.

The river experienced its heaviest flow since 1972, discharging 200,000 cubic feet of water per second.

The severity of the cyclone caused a landslide in Tiruvannamalai on December 1, claiming the lives of seven members of a family.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced that the storm over northern coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry moved westward and weakened by the early morning of December 3.

Chief Minister N. Rangaswamy has allocated cash relief to Puducherry residents, while the Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are conducting rescue operations for 200 families stranded by the cyclone.

Cyclone Fengal claimed the lives of 20 individuals and displaced more than 400,000 families in Sri Lanka, forcing them to seek refuge in evacuation centres.