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PORT LOUIS - Mauritius lifted a storm alert on Tuesday after tropical cyclone Dina bypassed the Indian Ocean island causing violent winds and heavy rains that killed two people, forecasters said.

The centre of the storm, expected to strike in the early hours of the morning, skirted Mauritius from the north, coming to within 65 km (40 miles) of the shore at around 7 a.m. (0300 GMT). By late afternoon, Dina was 160 km west of Mauritius and moving away in a south-westerly direction.

"No cyclone warning is in force in Mauritius," the Mauritius Meteorological Service said in a statement at 1400 GMT.

"The weather will be overcast with rain returning at times, and gusts of the order of 90 kph will continue for the next few hours, decreasing gradually to 50 kph by tomorrow morning."

The Mauritius stock market, banks and businesses, closed since the island went on high alert on Monday, were expected to reopen on Wednesday.

During the night wind speeds reached 206 kph (128 mph) and torrential rain brought down trees and electricity pylons across the island. Many houses were flooded and residents, without electricity since Monday night, were urged to stay indoors.

Power supply was cut throughout the island, with the exception of emergency services, as a precautionary measure.

Two people were reported killed on Monday in separate road accidents caused by the storm.

The cyclone season for Mauritius, a banking and tourism centre, runs from November to mid-May with January and February the peak months.

The impact of cyclonic rains on the island's sugar crop is a major concern. Sugar, one of the mainstays of the Mauritian economy, is harvested from June to December and is currently at a very early stage of growth. In 1994, cyclone Hollanda severely reduced the island's sugar crop. Nampa-Reuters

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