Storm warning in eastern India

Weather officials in eastern India have warned the states of West Bengal and Orissa that a severe depression off the coast of the Bay of Bengal may lead to a cyclone late on Monday or early on Tuesday.

They said winds could reach 100 kilometres per hour.

The governments in both states have alerted their coastal districts, though no one has been evacuated from coastal areas so far.

Officials in West Bengal say the local people in coastal villages will be asked to move to safer places only when the direction of the cyclone becomes clearer.

Earlier this month over 100 fishermen from the coastal districts of West Bengal died when a similar depression led to strong winds.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service