An alert has been sounded along the 1000-km long coast of Andhra Pradesh as the Indian Meteorological Department has warned of a cyclonic storm brewing in south-east Bay of Bengal.
An IMD bulletin has said the low pressure area in south-east Bay of Bengal had concentrated into a depression and was likely to further intensify into a cyclonic storm.
Presently, the system was lying centred over 930 kms east-south east of Chennai and was moving in a north-westerly direction towards the Andhra Pradesh coast.
The state government has asked the collectors of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatanam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Prakasham and Nellore districts to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate precautionary and preventive measures.
The Cyclone Warning Centre in Visakhapatanam has said that the sea condition was rough and advised fishermen not to venture out.
This is the first warning of a cyclonic storm after last October' cyclonic storm caused unprecedented rains and floods. The floods had caused massive devastation in the five districts of Kurnoo, Mehbubnagar, Nalgonda, Guntur and Krishna.
The cyclonic storm has been forecast at a time when the state was reeling under an intense heat wave. Palvancha and Kottagudem in Khammam recorded the highest temperature of 49 degrees Celsius on Monday. It was more than 47 degrees Celsius in Adilabad, and over 45 degrees Celsius in Nizamabad and Machlipatnam.
In Hyderabad, where the temperature had hit a high of 45 degree Celsius last week, breaking the record of the last 45 years, normal life was hit by the heat wave. However Sunday night's rains brought respite to the residents of the capital city.
