Cyclone Asani changes the direction and heads to Machilipatnam, heavy rains to lash Rayalaseeema

A severe cyclone Asani in the Bay of Bengal changed the direction. The cyclone, which is expected to cross the coast in the middle of the north coast-Odisha, is heading towards Machilipatnam in Krishna district. The Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted the Cyclone crossing the coast near Machilipatnam by tomorrow evening. IMD hopes that it touch the coast at Machilipatnam and re-enter the sea at Visakhapatnam.

The Meteorological office has forecasted heavy to very heavy rains in Rayalaseema districts. On the other hand, due to the severe storm 'Asani', many flights have already been cancelled. All Indigo flights from Visakhapatnam were cancelled as a precautionary measure. Indigo has announced the cancellation of a total of 23 services. The airline has announced the cancellation of Air Asia's Delhi-Visakhapatnam and Bangalore-Visakhapatnam flights. Air India's Mumbai-Visakhapatnam and Delhi-Visakhapatnam flights have been cancelled.

The impact of the cyclone is likely to fall on Telangana. The Hyderabad Meteorological Department has forecasted light to moderate rains with thunder and lightning for the next three days. There is a possibility of scattered heavy rains in the districts

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Taneti Vanitha has advised coastal people to be vigilant in view of the cyclone. The Home Minister spoke to the Director of the Disaster Management Agency and inquired about the current situation. He said ADRF and ADRF teams were ready to alert all district officials in view of the storm. Fishermen are advised not to go fishing and ordered to take precautionary measures.