Schools closed, thousands evacuated as cyclone approaches southern India

The Indian government has ordered the urgent evacuation of several thousand residents in southern parts of India ahead of an approaching cyclone, Patria reports.

Cyclone "Vardah" is moving westward across the Bay of Bengal, and is expected to hit Chennai and neighboring Andhra Pradesh in the next few hours, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.

More than 23,000 local residents have been taken to relief centers, and plans are underway to evacuate several tens of thousands more, a state official told Reuters.

Fishermen have been warned not to go to sea for the next 36 hours, and the population has been advised to remain in shelters.

Naval ships and aircraft, as well as 30 diving teams, are on standby to assist the population or deliver supplies.

India's cyclone season typically lasts from April to December. Stormy weather often causes a high number of casualties, evacuations of tens of thousands of people, and extensive damage to crops and homes.

In the "super-cyclone" that claimed 10,000 lives in India in 1999, winds reached speeds of 300 km/h.