Two states along India's eastern coast were preparing to evacuate thousands of people ahead of Cyclone Arnab, which is expected to make landfall on Wednesday.

One of the states said it would also close schools in some districts for two days.

Arnab, which formed over the Bay of Bengal before intensifying into a ⁠cyclonic storm , is expected ​to ⁠make landfall in Andhra Pradesh state by Wednesday morning, with gusts of as much ⁠as 140kmph (87mph), India's weather office ​said.

The cyclone will probably intensify further, it added.

The weather system is expected to bring heavy to extremely heavy rainfall to ‌Andhra Pradesh's northern and central ‌coastal districts, and southern regions of neighbouring Odisha.

Andhra Pradesh has called for boats at sea to return ashore and ordered speedy restoration of power in case of disruptions.

A senior Andhra Pradesh disaster management official told Reuters on Monday the state government had identified 570,000 people as vulnerable and evacuations would start on…