(IMD) expects to make landfall on Wednesday morning. The storm is forecast to hit the southwestern Andhra Pradesh coast as a "very severe cyclonic storm", with gusts up to 150 km/h (93 mph). Indian media report about 50,000 evacuations ordered in Andhra Pradesh and 48,000 in Odisha. In the port city of Kakinada, torrential rain and heavy waves were already lashing the coast. Resident Kotesh Kumar, 35, told AFP: "I've never seen anything like this before." Cyclones - called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the Pacific - are common in the Bay of Bengal and northern Indian Ocean, but this season has been intensified by the El Niño phenomenon and unprecedented warming.

The IMD warns of "total destruction" of thatched houses, localized flooding, uprooted power and communication poles, and "widespread damage" to standing crops. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu ordered constant monitoring and advance precautions. Police in Kakinada barricaded seaside roads, low-lying areas were evacuated, and "all educational institutions" in some districts were shut from Tuesday to Saturday. Over 4,700 pregnant women in at-risk areas were moved to hospitals, according to The Indian Express. Odisha has opened 1,735 cyclone shelters and restricted movement in landslide-prone zones. New Delhi's Cabinet Secretariat said adequate shelters and evacuation arrangements were made. Neighbouring Sri Lanka closed schools amid warnings of torrential rain, flash floods and mudslides, placing the military on alert. Nepal's disaster authority warned Tuesday that as the storm moves inland toward the Himalayas - likely overnight Thursday - it will bring heavy rain and "a high risk of heavy snowfall, snowstorms and avalanches". Tourists were told to avoid high mountain areas. Nepal is still recovering from catastrophic August 26 floods sparked by a glacial collapse, which swept away more than 1,400 people and left over 5,000 missing. (Bssnews)