The cyclone was forecast to hit the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, the weather office said, and authorities sounded a high alert for coastal residents as well as fishermen.

"State officials in southern coastal areas have been told to take all precautionary steps, including positioning of men and material to meet emergencies," Andhra Pradesh's disaster management spokesman D.C. Rosaiah said in the state capital Hyderabad.

"People in the low-lying areas have been advised to move to safer places and a round-the-clock vigil is being kept in these districts," he said, adding that an evacuation of people was also on.

The cyclone, with winds of 90 kilometres-an-hour (56-miles an-hour) was located 450 kilometres (297 miles) off the southern Indian coast was expected to intensify late Wednesday.

It was forecast to make landfall at Tamil Nadu's seaside district of Machilipatnam, which was ravaged by last year's tsunami.

The local meteorological department here warned that heavy rains were likely to accompany the cyclone.

"Under the influence of the cyclonic storm, widespread rainfall with isolated heavy downpour is likely over Andhra Pradesh during the next 48 hours," it added.

Cyclones are frequent in October and November in the Bay of Bengal.

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