Severe Cyclone Heading Toward Southern India, Killing at Least 6

NEW DELHI - A severe cyclone is roaring in the Arabian Sea off southwestern India with winds of up to 140 kph (87 mph), causing heavy rains and flooding that have killed at least six people, officials said Sunday.

Cyclone Tauktae, the season's first major storm, is expected to make landfall early Tuesday in Gujarat state, a statement by the India Meteorological Department said. The massive storm will likely hamper India's fight against a surge of the coronavirus that's sweeping the country with devastating deaths, and the virus lockdown measures may slow relief work and damage from the storm could potentially destroy roads and cut vital supply lines. In areas along the Arabian Sea coast, four people were killed and 73 villages badly damaged on Sunday, according to the southwestern Karnataka state's disaster management authority.