CYCLONE FENGAL IN AUROVILLE
November 30 – December 2, 2024
Dear Friends
You may have heard that Auroville was impacted by Cyclone Fengal over the weekend. Luckily no lives were lost and we haven’t had any reports of major injuries. But we have heard about significant infrastructure damage, and many of our partner projects have been affected by flooding and wind damage.
Below we are sharing updates from Auroville as we are receiving them.
Auroville after Cyclone Fengal
AV Developments Announcement:
Cyclone Update:
Several parts in and around Auroville received rainfall >50cm (18 inches) during the cyclone, damaging critical infrastructure, pathways, farms, houses and the loss of trees, as a conservative estimate, is in the several hundreds. Some specific updates below as data still comes in:
Matrimandir Lake Broke:
The wall of the completed Phase 1 of the lake cracked, spilling water into the dug up Phase 2 lake area, and the HDPE lining was damaged.
Pathways:
The damage caused to trees by the cyclone denied access to most pathways of auroville, all of which were cleared by tireless efforts of individual residents.
Bioregion:
The Alankuppam-Kottakarai kolam overflowed, causing severe flooding in homes in the bioregion and Auroville farms in the area. A map of our bioregion’s watershed shows the largest watershed area is in the north and includes Bliss, MM area, Darkali, parts of Revelation, and large parts of the Industrial zone.
Farms:
Farms across Auroville have been affected to varying degrees including flooding of crop fields, loss of poultry life, and damage to critical infrastructure. For more details or if you are able to offer any assistance, contact us at info@aviusa.org.