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Journalism of Courage
HYDERABAD, OCT 17: A cyclone in the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify and hit the southeast coast by Wednesday evening, meteorological officials said.
The storm was about 450 km east of the coastal town of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday afternoon, the director of the Hyderabad Meteorological Centre, C V V Bhadram, said.
"It is likely to intensify further and move in a west, north-westerly direction and cross the South Andhra coast between Nellore town and Machilipatnam Port town by Wednesday evening or night," Bhadram said.
Heavy rain and wind was likely in several places in coastal Andhra Pradesh over the next 48 hours.
"Gales with wind speeds of 90 km to 100 km per hour are likely along and off the south Andhra coast and 60 to 70 km per hour along and off the north Andhra coast," Bhadram said.
Weather officials said cyclone, which was stationary in the morning, had later begun moving slowly.
Weather forecasters issued a cyclone warning on Monday for Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.
The warning came a year after a fierce cyclone slammed into Orissa, killing nearly 10,000 people and leaving millions homeless.
Authorities in nine coastal districts in Andhra Pradesh were on alert and have made arrangements to evacuate people from vulnerable areas at short notice, officials said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said he was in touch with the local authorities and they were monitoring the storm.
Orissa officials said the state government had asked the defence ministry to keep Army helicopters ready for relief and rescue operations.
Orissa Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik said in a statement police had been deployed to the southern town of Berhampur and were also on standby in other coastal areas.
Weather officials in Orissa said there still was an outside chance the storm could change course and hit their state.
Panicky residents in areas badly hit by last year’s cyclone have already started moving out to safer places inland and hoarding essentials like rice and candles.
More than 1,000 people were killed in severe flooding in West Bengal state, to the North of Orissa, in recent weeks.
