Three killed as Cyclone Fengal pummels India’s south

BENGALURU, India: A low-level cyclone that smashed into India´s southern coastline killed at least three people but otherwise did not cause widespread damage, officials said.

Cyclone Fengal made landfall late Saturday with sustained winds of 70-80 kilometres an hour.

Three people were electrocuted as a result of the storm in Chennai, Tamil Nadu state disaster management minister KKSSR Ramachandran told reporters late on Saturday.

But damage from the cyclone was otherwise “minimal”, he added.

The Times of India newspaper reported the death toll was four, adding that there was “flooding” and trees falling but “not to the extent feared”.

Cyclones -- the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the northwestern Pacific -- are a regular and deadly menace in the northern Indian Ocean.

While the storm is expected to gradually weaken into a depression later on Sunday, India´s weather bureau warned of heavy rains across parts of India´s south.