Collectors put on cyclone alert

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday alerted district collectors in coastal and southern parts of the State after the IMD forecast the formation of a cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal around the evening of November 16. Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) was yet to inform the State government about the possible impact of the system on the State.

“Though the IMD has not made any prediction, we have already taken precautionary measures and informed the district collectors of northern, southern and coastal regions to remain prepared and vigilant about the system brewing in the sea,” Pujari told reporters here. The minister is scheduled to review the situation with senior officials and assess the possible impact of the impending cyclone, sources said.

In a special message to the Chief Secretary, the IMD said a low-pressure area had formed over the southeast Bay of Bengal and lay over the central Andaman Sea and adjoining Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Friday morning. It is very likely to move northwestwards, become a well-marked low-pressure area on November 14 and intensify into a depression over the same region around the morning of November 15, the IMD said.

“Thereafter, it is likely to move north-northwestwards and intensify further into a cyclonic storm over the central Bay of Bengal around November 16 evening,” it said. In its midday bulletin, the Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, issued a yellow alert (be aware) for heavy rainfall in Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur districts on November 18 and 19.

Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds of 30-40 kmph are also likely in Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Kataka, Kendujhar, Mayurbhanj, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khordha and Nayagada during the period. On November 19 and 20, heavy rainfall is likely in Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam and Puri districts, for which a yellow alert has been issued. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds may also occur in Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Kataka, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khordha and Nayagada during the period. Squally weather, with wind speed of 45-55 kmph and gusting to 65 kmph at times, is likely along and off the south Odisha coast on November 17. The sea is likely to remain rough to very rough. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea along and off the south Odisha coast on November 17, the weather office said.

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