Severe Cyclonic Storm 'Asani' weakens into Cyclonic Storm; Rain lashes parts of Andhra’s Kakinada

New Delhi, May 11: Cyclone Asani has changed its course and is likely move along the east coast between Yanam, Kakinada, and Visakhapatnam on Wednesday morning before it weakens, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.

The Met department said the Severe Cyclonic Storm 'Asani' over westcentral Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 12 kmph during the past 6 hours, weakened into a Cyclonic Storm.

It's very likely to move nearly northwestwards for next few hours and reach Westcentral Bay of Bengal close to Andhra Pradesh coast. Thereafter, it's very likely to recurve slowly north-northeastwards, move along Machilipatnam, Narsapur,Yanam, Kakinada, Tuni and Visakhapatnam coasts, added IMD.

Asani is likely to emerge into westcentral Bay of Bengal off North Andhra Pradesh coasts by today evening. "Then it is likely to move northeastwards towards northwest Bay of Bengal. It is likely to weaken gradually into a depression by 12th May morning," the IMD said.

Ananda Kumar Das, in-charge of the weather bureau's cyclone monitoring division said that they are expecting it to touch the coast on Wednesday morning. The impact may not be very severe, but people still need to be prepared, he added.

The system is moving slowly and its weakening is expected, he added. Its size has become smaller in the past many hours and has helped Asani retain its energy and intensity, he further added.

In order to allow authorities to take action to prevent disasters, a red alert has been issued for coastal Andhra Pradesh.