Hyderabad, May 19: Rescue workers evacuated thousands of families in coastal Andhra districts as a brooding Laila, coiled some 400km away, moved menacingly towards the mainland amid fears that the world’s “fourth-largest” cyclonic storm could hit anytime around midnight.

The relief drive came even as heavy rain and 10ft-high waves swamped the coastal districts under the effect of the approaching cyclone. Three persons were killed in Andhra.

Yesterday, the storm had been located 690km from Visakhapatnam.

In Tamil Nadu, normal life was thrown into disarray as rain and strong winds triggered by Laila, which lay 190km east-northeast of Chennai, battered several areas.

People waded through knee-deep water in parts of Chennai and its suburbs, while gales packing speeds of up to 90kmph uprooted trees at many places.

The Andhra government has put off celebrations tomorrow to mark one year in office for the Congress, now in its second term, and asked all employees to defer plans to go on leave till May 25.

In Hyderabad, the director of the weather office warned of wind speeds of 110-125kmph, 10-15ft-high waves and 20cm rain when Laila strikes the coast. “Already, heavy downpour of 10cm, 5-10ft-high waves and 55kmph winds have been lashing the mainland under the effect of Laila’s movement,” V.S. Prasada Rao said.

Earlier in the day, the cyclone had moved to about 320km of the coastline before retreating, officials said.

M. Shashidhar Reddy, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority, described Laila as the “fourth-largest” in the world. “But we are prepared to face Laila even in its worst shape,” he said.

The Andhra administration and weather officials said they expected the cyclone to cross the mouth of the Krishna river on the east coast off the Bay of Bengal near the islet of Edurumondi in Krishna district.

The sparsely populated, tiny island has borne the brunt of several cyclones in the past.

Officials said Laila, centred 410km north-northwest off Visakhapatnam in the afternoon, was moving at a speed of over 25kmph and was expected to hit the mainland by midnight.

“Low-lying areas in Visakhapatnam city and towns and villages on the east coast have already been flooded and the administration has set up camps and begun evacuating families living within 2km of the coast,” said an official.

An official said chief minister K. Rosaiah, who summoned an emergency meeting of his cabinet, had directed district collectors to move all inhabitants from low-lying areas, “if necessary by force”.