BENGALURU: A low-intensity cyclone hit India’s southern coastline, killing at least three people but sparing the region from widespread damage, officials said.
Cyclone Fangal made landfall over the weekend, packing winds of 70-80 km/h (43-50 mph).
Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran confirmed three electrocution deaths in Chennai during the storm, as he addressed reporters late on Saturday.
But storm damage was otherwise “minimal.”
gave Times of India The newspaper put the death toll at four, adding that there was “flooding” and falling trees but “not to the extent feared”.
Cyclones—the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the northwest Pacific—are a regular and deadly threat in the northern Indian Ocean.
While the storm is expected to gradually weaken into a depression after Sunday, the India Meteorological Bureau has warned of heavy rains in parts of southern India.
It advised a complete suspension of fishing operations and also said there was a “moderate to flash flood risk” in some areas.
Fengel lashed the Sri Lankan coast earlier this week, killing at least 12 people, including six children.
Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world warms due to climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels.
Warmer sea surfaces release more water vapor, which provides additional energy for storms, strengthening winds.
A warmer environment allows them to hold more water, increasing rainfall.
But better forecasting and more effective evacuation planning have dramatically reduced the death toll.