India, Nov. 7 -- Andhra Pradesh's health and medical department shifted 6,166 pregnant women who were close to their delivery dates into hospitals in advance, as two cyclones bore down on the state in quick succession, and 2,924 of them, or 47.42 per cent, have already given birth.

The department said the exercise was meant to protect expectant mothers, women who had recently delivered and newborn babies from the effects of Cyclones Murasu and Arnab, which hit different sets of districts. Women were traced by field-level medical staff and moved to hospitals near their homes so that care would not be interrupted and travel during the storms avoided.

Across the 13 districts affected by Murasu, 3,066 pregnant women were shifted and 1,705 o...