Bhubaneswar, October 10: As Cyclone Titli is expected to make landfall in Odisha at 5:30am tomorrow, the administration has decided to shut down all educational institutions in the state. An instruction has been issued by the Chief Secretary to all the private schools and colleges, apart from the state-owned institutions and anganwadi centres, to remain closed on October 11-12.

The cyclone, whose movement is being tracked over the past couple of days, has intensified into a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal. According to the India Meteorological Department, Titli will be accompanied by "extremely heavy rainfall" in coastal Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh tomorrow. Odisha on High Alert Due to Cyclone Titli: Met Department Issues Heavy Rainfall Warning for Next 3 Days.

The first coastal spot where the cyclone will hit is predicted between Gopalpur in Odisha and Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The location is roughly 275-km equidistant from the two seaside towns.

In Odisha, where the IMD has issued a red alert, personnel of the National Disaster Response Force, along with the State Rapid Action Force, have been stationed in the three coastal districts: Ganjam, Khurda and Puri.

According to the Met department, parts of the above-mentioned three districts will be inundated as the storm surge height is predicted to be 1 metre above the astronomical tide.

Residents of the low-lying regions in Odisha are being shifted to relief camps, whereas, the fishermen have been warned against venturing into the sea till Friday.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked the authorities to ensure "zero casualty" and keep the cyclone shelters ready for housing people during the disaster. So far, nearly 1,000 people have been evacuated, his Chief Secretary A P Padhi told reporters.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 10, 2018 06:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).