Hyderabad:
Heavy rains and gale continued to lash Nellore and other districts of Andhra Pradesh close to Tamil Nadu today due to the cyclonic storm 'Nilam.'
The cyclone was supposed to cross north Tamil Nadu and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coast - between Puducherry and Nellore near Chennai - this evening, official sources said.
The arrival of the cyclone led to rainfall at most places. Heavy to very heavy rainfall would also occur over south coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema during the next 48 hours, according to the Met department.
There were no reports of death or damage to property till evening, the state Commissioner for Disaster Management said.
However, media reports showed damaged huts and uprooted trees at many places.
Larger-than-usual tidal waves would inundate the low-lying areas of Nellore district, the sources added.
The cyclone was expected to cause minor damage to power and communication lines, and also to the standing rice and groundnut crops.
The government has set up control rooms at the Secretariat in hyderabad and at the district and division level.
Senior IAS cadres have been posted in 13 coastal mandals as special officers and teams have been kept ready for evacuation in low-lying areas, the Commissioner said.
Meanwhile, Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy held a meeting with senior officials to review the situation.
Evacuation of people might not be necessary, he later told reporters.
Stating that the government had put the administration on alert and deployed relief and rescue teams, he said the rains might not cause much damage.
Agriculture Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana, at another meeting, directed officials to communicate the information on rains to the farmers regularly.