Cyclone weakens after displacing 150,000 in India

[NewsCaster]

At least six people in India and Sri Lanka have been killed by the cyclone Nilam. NBCNews.com's Alex Witt reports.By NBC News staff and wire servicesTropical Storm Nilam weakened Thursday after slamming into southern India, bringing heavy rain and a storm surge and displacing 150,000 people. At least six deaths have been reported in India and Sri Lanka.

Follow @NBCNewsWorldJust before the storm made landfall Wednesday, an oil tanker with 37 crew ran aground off Chennai. One of its lifeboats capsized in the choppy waters, and one crew member drowned, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

On Thursday, two helicopters searched in the Bay of Bengal for four missing crew members, said coast guard officer Gurdip Singh, adding that 32 were rescued from the tanker.


The cyclone had maximum winds of 45 mph after landfall but had weakened to a tropical depression. A storm surge of up to 5 feet had been forecast to flood low-lying coastal areas, the India Meteorological Department said. Fishermen were asked to stay at shore.

NBCNews