Cyclone Phethai: Strong winds, high tide hit Andhra Pradesh

Phethai, the cyclone, over southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal is very likely to intensify into a “severe cyclonic storm” during the next six hours and move north-northwest, and cross Andhra Pradesh coast around Kakinada on Monday afternoon, said the Cyclone Warning Centre at Visakhapatnam in its latest 4.35 pm bulletin on Sunday.

The cyclonic storm lay centred at 2.30 pm on Sunday at about 480 km southeast of Machilipatnam and 510 km south-southeast of Kakinada.

“However, due to unfavourable environmental conditions, it is likely to weaken slightly before landfall and cross coast as a cyclonic storm,” said the bulletin.