Severe cyclone heading to western India, 4 dead

A severe cyclone is roaring in the Arabian Sea off southwestern India with winds of up to 140 kilometers per hour and it already caused heavy rains and flooding that have killed at least four people, officials said Sunday. Cyclone Tauktae is the season’s first major storm and it is expected to make landfall on Tuesday in Gujarat state, the India Meteorological Department said.

Four people were killed and 73 villages badly damaged along the Arabian Sea coast on Sunday. The storm is moving at a speed of 11 kilometers per hour and it was currently 660 kilometers south-southeast of Veraval in Gujarat state, the India Meteorological Department said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reviewed with officials the preparedness of states to deal with the cyclone, a government statement said.