Cyclone Mala had been forecast to slam Tuesday into the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The weakening of the storm came as a welcome reprieve for the state which has been swamped by floods and heavy rain since October.

"Now it has weakened and is moving towards a northerly direction, rains will also reduce," said the official at the weather duty office in the southern city of Chennai.

The storm was around 300 km east (188 miles) of northern Cuddalore district Monday when the weather office sounded a cyclone alert.

The administration arranged for more than 50,000 people to be evacuated from coastal areas but called off the plans after the storm weakened.

Heavy rain, however, was expected in Bangladesh, Myanmar and eastern India as the storm was moving east, the weather official said.

Floods and heavy rain over the past two months in Tamil Nadu have killed more than 400 people and left tens of thousands homeless.

The homeless have been put in camps.

One in Chennai was the scene of a stampede Sunday that killed 42 people who were rushing for food coupons. It was the second such stampede since October.

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