A cyclone that hit India's south-eastern coast killed 12 people before it weakened Thursday without causing serious damage to property, officials said. Cyclone Nilam, accompanied by heavy rains and winds at speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour, made landfall Wednesday at Mahabalipuram, 50 kilometres south of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state.
Authorities had evacuated 8,000 people, mostly fishermen, from low-lying areas to temporary shelters, Tamil Nadu's disaster management chief Jatindra Nath Swain said. "At least eight people have died in rain-related incidents including house collapses and electrocution. The death toll should not rise further as the storm has weakened," he said over phone from Chennai.