PUDIMADAKA, India (Antara/Reuters) - At least 100,000 people were evacuated on India's eastern seaboard on Saturday as cyclone Hudhud bore down, threatening to devastate farmland and fishing villages when it hits the coast on Sunday morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) rated Hudhud as a "very severe cyclonic storm" that could pack gusts of up to 165 km/h (over 100 mph) and dump more than 24.5 cm (10 inches) of rain in some places when it makes landfall. Around 100,000 people have been evacuated in the coastal state of Andhra Pradesh to high-rise buildings, shelters and relief centres, with plans to move a total of 300,000 to safety. Authorities further north in Odisha state said they were monitoring the situation and would, if necessary, move 300,000 people most at risk. "We have already shifted about 10,000 people from low-lying areas and plan to evacuate 14,000 more," N. Yubaraj, administrative chief of the coastal district of Visakhapatnam district, told Reuters. Visakhapatnam, also known as Vizag, is the largest city inAndhra Pradesh and hosts a major Indian naval base.(*)

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