Signs of cyclone Laila re-emerging in north Bay of Bengal: IMD

Forecasters today said cyclone 'Laila' has weakened but the danger was not over yet as there were signs of it re-emerging in northern Bay of Bengal over the weekend after wreaking havoc in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

"After landfall in coastal Andhra Pradesh near Bapatla, the cyclone track shows that it will move along coastal Andhra and re-emerge in north Bay," Ajit Tyagi, director general India Meteorological Department (IMD) told reporters here.

He said there were chances of the cyclone intensifying further and moving towards north Andhra Pradesh, South Orissa and then towards Bangladesh.

Tyagi rejected suggestions of the cyclone intensifying into a super cyclone similar to the one that struck Orissa in 1999.

A senior scientist involved in tracking the cyclone said that the strong upper winds at an altitude of around 10 km were steering 'Laila' in a northwesterly to northerly direction.

He said that there have been precedents of cyclones re-emerging after landfall and the movement of 'Laila' was not an unusual one.

The weather office has warned of extensive damage to thatch roofs and huts, and to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large avenue trees in Nellore, Prakasham, Guntur, Krishna, West and East Godavari and Vishakhapatnam districts.

Even after landfall, coastal Andhra Pradesh is expected to receive heavy to very heavy rains for the next 12 hours.

Asked whether the cyclone would affect the onset of monsoon over Kerala, Tyagi said that the IMD stood by its forecast of the annual rains reaching Kerala by May 30.

"Under the influence of this system, widespread rainfall with scattered heavy to very heavy falls and isolated extremely heavy falls (25 cms or more) is likely over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana during the next two days," an IMD advisory said.

Gale force wind with speed reaching 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph likely along and off Andhra Pradesh coast is expected, it said.

The weather office has said that sea condition will be very high along and off Andhra Pradesh coast during next 12 hours and fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea off this coast.

Tyagi said storm surges of upto 1.5 meters are expected as a result of the cyclone.