India: cyclone to intensify

dian authorities Friday said Cyclone Hudhud, currently hovering over the Bay of Bengal, would intensify later in the day and expected to trigger downpours in the eastern state of Odisha and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
"The cyclone is developing into a severe cyclonic storm and likely to bring heavy rainfall in the two states before finally making a landfall in the port city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha's coastal districts Sunday," a senior weather official said.
Highly placed sources said Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh this morning discussed preparedness to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone with the Chief Ministers of the two states and offered the central government's help.
"A number of satellite phones have been sent to Odisha anticipating that telecom networks in the state might get affected by the clone," they said.
Thousands of disaster management personnel have been deployed in both the states and the military has also been kept as standby, the sources said.
Cyclone Hudhud is named after a bird.