Hyderabad, Dec 1, SPA -- Authorities delayed evacuation ofthousands of people to higher ground as a cyclone remainedstationary in the Bay of Bengal and was unlikely to hitIndia's southern coast for another day, an official saidThursday. The storm was located nearly 350 kilometers (220 miles)southeast of Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, andwas likely to intensify and hit the coast on Friday night,said V. Subhramanyam, director of the Cyclone WarningCenter. It was originally expected to hit southern India onThursday. Weather in the southern parts of coastal AndhraPradesh state was largely normal. Cyclones often hit Andhra Pradesh state in October andNovember. "The impact of the storm may be felt when it gets closerto the coast on Friday. There will be gale winds with aspeed of up to 90 kilometers (55 miles) per hour,"Subhramanyam was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. With irrigation reservoirs already full from monsoonrains, further flooding could breach some of them, he said.--SPA1406 Local Time 1106 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/306979