People in low-lying coastal areas of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have been advised to move to shelters as a cyclone approaches the region. Cyclone Fanoos is moving west in the Bay of Bengal with wind speeds said to measure 60km (37 miles) per hour.

It is expected to reach the shore on Saturday, becoming the second such storm to hit Tamil Nadu in a week. Torrential rains and flooding have already displaced more than 200,000 people in the area. More than 100 relief centres have been set up to prepare for the latest evacuations.

Fishermen have been asked to stay ashore. An official quoted by the Reuters news agency said there was a detailed plan for evacuating particular villages and that sandbags and other defences had been prepared.

Last week, thousands of people in low-lying areas along the coast of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh were warned to stay out of the way of Cyclone Baaz. Some 300 people have died because of heavy rain and floods in southern India this year.

| BBC |

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