Cyclone Laila to hit AP coast by noon

Hyderabad/Chennai: The meteorological department has predicted that Cyclone Laila will hit Andhra Pradesh coast between Kavali and Kakinada by Thursday afternoon. Evacuation process is on in the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and more than 11 lakh people are expected to be affected if the cyclone hits the state's coastal regions.

However, meteorological department on Thursday morning said that the cyclone had weakened but was still capable of causing some damage. The wind speed had dropped to 110 km per hour from 125 km per hour, a meteorological department official said.

High alert has been sounded in Andhra and Tamil Nadu with Army units on standby to help in the relief and rescue operations. Both the states have been experiencing heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds and 17 people have been reportedly killed.

Three of the deaths have been reported from Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district while a 52-year old fisherman drowned in sea current at Tirupalakudi village in Ramanathapuram district while trying to retrieve his boat which got snapped from its mooring following heavy wind. A 24-year-old woman, who was an employee of a software firm, was electrocuted in Chennai.

Flights have been cancelled from Hyderabad to Vishakhapatnam and Rajamundhry. Trains towards Vijayawada and Vishakhapatnam are also running slow.

Hyderabad cyclone control room numbers: 040-23239922, 040-23239900. Helpline numbers for Vijayawada: 0866-2767295, 0866-2767077, 0866-2767078

The Centre is deploying 438 personnel of National Disaster Response Force along the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh to meet any exigencies arising out of Cyclone Laila. The NDRF personnel along with 64 inflatable boats and search and rescue equipment are being sent to the state. The men would be deployed in Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Machhallipatanam, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore.

A high alert has been sounded in coastal regions and revenue officials have started evacuating people from some areas of Vishakhapatnam, Krishna, West and East Godavari districts, official sources said

In Tamil Nadu as many as 140 boats anchored along Mandapam coast in Ramanathapuram district have been damaged in strong winds triggered by the cyclonic storm even as 20 of the 300 fishermen reported missing returned to shore from Katchathivu Island, officials said.

According to fisheries department officials, 40 country boats anchored along Mandapam coast and 100 boats in Mandapam, including an Indian Coast Guard Vessel and two boats of coastal security groups were damaged.

Twenty of the 300 fishermen, who were traced to Katchathivu (an islet ceded to Sri Lanka by India), have returned to Mandapam, they said.

The fishermen had put out to sea in 100 country boats, fitted with outboard motors, on the night of May 17.

Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Minister Suba Thangavelan, accompanied by Rameswaram District Collector TN Hariharan, visited the affected areas in Pamban and Mandapam.

Thangavelan said full compensation would be given to fishermen whose boats were destroyed while repair charges would be given for partially damaged vessels.

Tamil Nadu's coastal areas including Chennai, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur have been experiencing heavy rains since Wednesday night.

West Bengal and Orissa are also expected to come under the influence of Cyclone Laila with heavy rainfall expected in Gangetic West Bengal along with a few places in south and north Orissa. But meteorological department says there was no no need to worry for people in West Bengal and Orissa.

However, alert has been sounded in Kolkata and the districts of East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Nadia.

(With inputs from CNN-IBN and PTI)