The cyclone Laila, which was predicted to hit hard on the coasts of Andhra and Tamil Nadu, has now started to weaken considerably after it entered a ‘well marked low pressure area’ just north of the coast of Andhra Pradesh.

But now there is a threat that the relieving storm will lash heavy rains in the areas of Srikakulam, Vishakapatnam, Vizianagaram, Khammam and Warangal.

The Chief Secretary of the Deccan Herald stated that Laila is officially posing no threat to Andhra Pradesh, but there is a possibility that the storm may re-emerge in the north of Bay of Bengal. The state government has stated that the death toll due to the cyclone is 23. As the news of the cyclone came to the 71,000 people who had been dissipated due to the threat of the storm, most of them decided to go back to their homes.

The Chief Minister of the State addressed the collectors of the coastal areas to be on high alert, and to pay more attention on relief and medical facilities. He has even asked the official to start assessing the damage after the cyclone had passed away.

Late evening on Wednesday, the cyclone ‘Laila’ was forecasted to hit Andhra Pradesh coast in a devastating manner. But then, overnight, the storm lost its intensity and caused less damage to property and life as it was not expected to.

A senior meteorologist from the local town, has stated that it might be the reason that Laila was moving too close to the land for a very long time; this may be the reason it lost steam to charge the coast of Andhra Pradesh.

Cyclones get their energy from the sea, by the process of evaporation of sea water into the atmosphere. As long it stays on the sea, it keeps charging, but then Laila was just too close to the land and the much needed water was not sufficiently available to keep the storm going. As the cyclone moved very fast towards the land and covered a very short span of distance – since it was moving parallel to the coast- it seems it lost the supply of moisture, which led to weaken the system.

The cyclone has claimed 14 lives and is reportedly heading towards Orissa.