Cyclone Thane lashes India's southern coast, kills 16
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A severe cyclone packing winds of up to 140 kilometres (85 miles) an hour tore into India's southeastern coast on Friday, killing at least 16 people, a senior official said.
Cyclone Thane lashed the coast between Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu state and the territory of Puducherry early on Friday, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
"Fourteen persons have died in Tamil Nadu and two in Pondicherry. Though the death toll may not go up drastically, there is a possibility of some more deaths," Marri Shashidhar Reddy, vice-chairman of NDMA, said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has alloted Rs 150 crore for immediate relief measures and directed four ministers to visit the districts which bore the brunt of cyclonic storm 'Thane'.
She said as a precautionary measure, around 6,000 people living in low lying areas were moved to safer places and power supply had been suspended in Cuddalore, Villupuram and Nagapattinam districts since last night.
The damage and loss of life in these two places was mainly caused by strong winds, heavy rainfall and storm surges that led to the collapse of old, rickety buildings.
Reddy hoped the worst was over as the cyclone was showing signs of weakening.
"The cyclonic storm has now weakened into a depression, and its impact should come down," he said, adding that early warning systems had kept casualties in check.
Meteorological department officials predicted 'heavy to very heavy' rainfall over places in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Karnataka during the next 24 hours.
Squally winds were likely to blow over north Tamil Nadu during the next three hours before decreasing in intensity gradually.
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