At least ten people were killed when Cyclone Vardah slammed into the southern Indian tech hub of Chennai, bringing down houses and cutting off the electricity supply, authorities said Tuesday.

    Most were crushed by trees uprooted in winds of up to 140 kilometres (87 miles) per hour, which also cut power across large swathes of southern India on Monday.

    India's meteorological department said Vardah, which forced the evacuation of 18,000 people, was the worst cyclonic storm to hit the capital of Tamil Nadu state in more than two decades.

    Chennai international airport was shut for almost 12 hours but resumed operations on Tuesday, an airport official said. Train services have also partially resumed. In 1999, more than 8,000 people were killed when a cyclone battered the eastern state of Orissa

Source: QNA