BBC Online :
Authorities in India have begun evacuating tens of thousands of people as a powerful cyclone heads for the western coast.
Cyclone Nilofar, categorised as “severe” by weather forecasters, is expected to hit Gujarat state on Saturday morning.
India’s Meteorological Department has predicted the storm will bring winds of up to 130km/h (80 mph).
Rescue and relief teams have been deployed and the army is on stand-by.
A super-cyclone in 1999 killed more than 10,000 people in eastern Orissa state.
Earlier this month, Cyclone Hudhud pounded India’s eastern coast, killing more than 40 people, causing extensive damage and prompting the evacuation of some 350,000 people.
Cyclone Nilofar is also expected to pass around 250km (155 miles) from Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, local weather officials said.
Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority has told officials to prepare to evacuate villages along the coast and close beachside restaurants.
