The Andhra government hardly had time to enumerate the damage caused by Cyclone Helen when another cyclone, Lehar, inches closer to the coastal belt and is now at about 500 kms at sea from Machilipatnam, as of this evening.
The dust had not even settled on Cyclone Phailin, which had ravaged coastal areas of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, that the two states are bracing up to battle Cyclone Lehar, packing wind speeds of 120 kmph at landfall. Cyclone Lehar will not be as strong as Phailin, but will definitely be stronger than Helen. Not only weaker structures will be demolished but even firm ones and strong objects will be displaced.
The very severe cyclonic storm has now reduced in intensity to become a severe cyclonic storm is expected to make landfall close to Machilipatnam in coastal Andhra Pradesh on 28th noon. It will bring very heavy rain in excess of 200 mm in a span of 24 hours in adjoining areas of landfall. The intensity of rain will decrease as we move towards the periphery, both north and south of Machilipatnam. The districts to bear the brunt of Cyclone Lehar will be Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna and Godavari. After landfall, the system will gradually engulf Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and south interior Karnataka, bringing good showers in these places.
According to Skymet forecast, here’s a list of cities to be affected and the amount of rain at landfall.
| Places | Rainfall (mm) |
| Machilipatnam | Exceeding 200 |
| Kakinada | Exceeding 200 |
| Narsapura | Exceeding 100 |
| Visakhapatnam | Exceeding 100 |
| Bapatla | Approximately 100 |
