"cyclone"

A pressure area had formed over the southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Lakshadweep area on Thursday.

Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama pointed to climate change as a cause of recent deadly storms.

The storm triggered floods, landslides and blackouts before moving out to sea early Friday, where it rapidly weakened to a Category Three system.

The IMD has issued yellow alerts for the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram.

NDRF workers have reached designated areas and are facilitating administration and helping local citizens.

Tirumala Hills, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, has been receiving incessant rain since Wednesday, causing a lot of hardship to hundreds of devotees stranded there.

A total of 101 houses, including thatched huts and tiled houses were damaged by cyclone, the Tamil Nadu government said.

In both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, there were no reports of loss of life due to the cyclone, which left a trail of uprooted trees, authorities said.

Relief camps were opened at various points accommodating 2,000 people so far.

Chennai and its suburbs received heavy overnight rains, with low-lying areas getting inundated and water entering houses in such localities.

The IMD has achieved significant improvement in track, landfall, intensity and adverse weather including heavy rainfall, strong wind and storm surge forecast.