Cyclone Laila touched land between Bapatla and Ongole in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday evening. Heavy rain lashed coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. So far, twelve people lost their lives in the cyclone in the two states. The storm recurved its path after touching the land and started moving in Zig zag manner. It has weakened further and started moving Northern direction towards Visakhapatnam. <br/> In Andhra Pradesh, death toll rose to 9 due to Cyclonic storm Laila, with 3 more persons died due to electrocution in Krishna District. About five thousand houses and crops worth of several crores of rupees have been damaged due to the storm. Earlier, 3 persons died in Nellore, two in East Godavari and one in Vizayanagaram districts. Meanwhile, the state Government has announced a financial assistance of one lakh rupees each to the families of the cyclone victims. <br/> In Tamil Nadu, the death toll in rain related incidents has gone up to 9. Three deaths were reported in Chennai and Erode since last night. Rain which lashed several coastal districts including Chennai on Wednesday, abated. <br/> Army has geared up to tackle the situation arising out of the cyclone Laila. A high-level meeting of senior Armed Forces officers was held in New Delhi this evening to review the preparedness and planning a swift response.<br/> Meanwhile, Southern railway has cancelled a couple of trains leaving Chennai to Andhra Pradesh. A special information centre has been set up at Chennai central railway station to provide information on train services affected due to the cyclone. Public can call telephone no 044-5330717 for getting information on train services. <br/><br/> The Andhra Pradesh government has established a CONTROL ROOM to help the people. It can be reached at the following numbers: 040-23451043 040-23239922 <br/>The Cyclone hot Districts have also established their helplines. <br/>