Even as a furious tropical cyclonic storm 'Laila' in the Bay of Bengal was gusting forward, the Andhra Pradesh coast has started experiencing gale winds and heavy rains.
With the cyclonic storm "Laila", formed in the Bay of Bengal further intensifying into a severe cyclonic storm and the outer periphery of the system reaching very close to Andhra coast, authorities have started evacuating people from low-lying areas in the region to safer places. At least eight people died and 19 fishermen were missing in different rain-related incidents in the state on Tuesday.
As Cyclone Hudhud is closing in on the Andhra Pradesh coastline and is expected to make a landfall near Visakhapatnam by Sunday afternoon, about 1.11 lakh people in five coastal districts have been shifted to safer places.