Hyderabad: It is a tense wait for people in the four coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh where 767 villages face threat. Meanwhile, ONGC and Reliance have stopped offshore drilling of crude and natural gas.
Cyclone 'Laila' is expected to cross the coast at Machilipatnam later tonight. Wind speeds could be as high a 115-125 KM per hour during landfall.
"Collectors have already begun to evacuate. There are helicopters, the Navy and the Army. Also the Central government is going to help us. Apart from helicopters, they wanted some boats as well, power boats. So, those arrangements are being made," said Geeta Reddy, Minister for Information and Tourism, Andhra Pradesh.
Heavy rainfall of up to 25 cm is expected in the coastal districts. So, the administration is keeping a watch on vulnerable structures like bridges and culverts.
In Chennai and Puducherry, rains brought welcome relief from the heat even though it did lead to water-logging and traffic congestion in many areas.
Cyclonic storm Laila is now positioned 480 KM South-West of Vishakhapatnam. It is moving in a north westerly direction. Under the influence of this system, north coastal Tamil Nadu has been experiencing heavy to widespread rainfall and the coastal Andhra Pradesh is likely to experience widespread rain accompanied with strong winds measuring upto125 KM per hour. Sea condition will be very rough along coast of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. (
Read: 100 fishing boats missing, cyclone moves closer to Tamil Nadu coast)
Cyclone may fizzle out once it reaches Orissa and form into a deep depression after hitting Andhra's coast. According to the Metrological Department, cyclonic storm "Laila" could stall the progress of the Southwest Monsoon for a couple of days, but would have no bearing on the onset of the Monsoon over Kerala on May 30.