Thousands of people were evacuated from lowlying areas along India's south-eastern coast today as a cyclone over the Bay of Bengal strengthened, officials and news reports said, according to dpa. Cyclone Laila, which was centred in the Bay of Bengal about 190 kilometres north-east of Chennai, was likely to cross the coast of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states early Thursday, a forecast from the Indian Metereological Department said. Fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea and hutment dwellers were being moved to safer places, IANS news agency reported. More than 50,000 people living in coastal Andhra Pradesh had already been evacuated. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force had reached the coast and four Indian Air Force helicopters were being kept ready for rescue and relief operations. Heavy rains accompanied by strong gale force winds had battered the region over the past 24 hours, uprooting trees and damaging electricity poles and communication towers, IANS reported. At least 10 people had died in rain-related incidents, such as lightning strikes and house collapses, since Tuesday. More than 140 boats, including Indian Coast Guard vessels anchored along the coast, had been damaged as they were hammered by the strong winds, state-run Doordarshan television reported. The weather office forecast very heavy rainfall with accumulation of 25 centimetres and above, accompanied by winds with speeds of 115- 125 kilometres per hour when the cyclone hits land. Cyclones often form over the Bay of Bengal from April to November, bringing widespread destruction and flooding in India's southern and eastern coastal regions. -- SPA
