Hudhud, the cyclone in the North Bay of Bengal heading towards Indian eastern coast, is likely to make landfall at Vishakhapatnam in two days, weathermen said.

The storm that spawned over North-Andaman sea is likely to intensify further into a severe cyclone before hitting the coast, projected Dhaka Meteorological office.

"It would not come to Bangladesh, unless it changes direction. But we need to follow the cyclone to say exactly where it would make its landfall," Rasheduzzaman, the duty

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forecasting officer, told The Daily Star yesterday evening.

However, it would cause torrential rain in Bangladesh, especially in the coastal areas, he said.

A special cyclone bulletin issued around noon yesterday said the Bay of Bengal would remain very rough. Maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Mongla and Payra have been advised to hoist distant warning signal-2.

Distant warning signal-2 means there is a distant storm with wind speeds of 62-88 kph.

All fishing boats and trawlers in the northern Bay and deep sea have been advised to remain close to the shore and proceed with caution until further notice.

Hudhud, as named by Oman, is an Arabic word for a colourful bird called Hoopoe.

The next cyclone in the northern Indian Ocean region will be named Nilofar by Pakistan followed by Priya (Sri Lanka) and Komen (Thailand).