SCHOOLS and ports have shut down in southeast India as a cyclone heads towards the coast, with forecasters predicting it could make a direct hit on Chennai later in the day.
Cyclone Nilam was likely to do extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts and also uproot trees, causing power blackouts and communication problems across Tamil Nadu and Andra Pradesh states, officials said on Wednesday.
A bulletin from the India Meteorological Department warned of winds gusting up to 110 kilometres an hour and flooding of low-lying areas because of a sea surge and heavy rain.
It advised residents living in huts along the coast to move to safer areas and ordered fishermen not to go out to sea.
The cyclone was expected to make landfall on Wednesday evening at some point along a 350-kilometre stretch of coast. Chennai, the state capital of Tamil Nadu, is in the middle of the affected zone.
"We have advised all the schools and colleges to remain close for the day," Jayraman, a government administrator in Chennai who uses only one name, told AFP.
"All maritime activities have been suspended and the government is monitoring the situation closely," he added. "So far, no evacuation process has started."
Local authorities said they were preparing helicopters and boats for any emergency. Existing cyclone shelters, schools and community halls have also been identified to serve as potential relief camps.
Neighbouring Sri Lanka on Tuesday allowed thousands of people who had been evacuated to return to their homes after the storm, which had been expected to hit the island, changed course and moved towards India.
The last cyclone in India struck in the same southeast region in January, claiming 42 lives and leaving a trail of destruction across Tamil Nadu.
India and Bangladesh are hit regularly by cyclones that develop in the Bay of Bengal between April and November, causing widespread damage to homes, livestock and crops.
India's Andhra Pradesh state saw its worst cyclone in 1977 when more than 10,000 people were killed.
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