Storm weakens after heavy rain, evacuation in southern India

By OMER FAROOQ
Associated Press

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — A tropical storm has weakened after dumping heavy rains overnight in parts of southern India off the Bay of Bengal as more than 50,000 people evacuated to government-run camps. Kanna Babu, a state commissioner for disaster management, says no loss of life or major damage has been reported so far from the rain-hit areas of Andhra Pradesh state. Babu says 54,000 people were evacuated  Friday from vulnerable areas to nearly 200 state-run relief camps. Authorities shut schools, canceled trains and anchored the fishermen’s boats in these areas until Sunday. Scientists say that cyclones and powerful storms in the Indian Ocean are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change.