The well marked low pressure area over southeast Bay of Bengal has intensified into a depression and is likely to take the form of a cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours and reach Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coast on December 4, the IMD has said in its bulletin on Thursday.
In view of the possible cyclone, the Odisha government has geared up its preparedness by keeping adequate men, machinery and logistics ready to meet the challenge.
Based on the IMD’s suggestions the state government has ensured that all fishermen returned to the shore by Thursday evening, special relief commissioner P K Jena said.
According to the IMD bulletin issued on Thursday evening the system has moved west-northwestwards and has concentrated into a depression. At 5.30 pm it lay centered over southeast Bay of Bengal, about 960 km south-southeast of Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 1020 km south-southeast of Gopalpur (Odisha) and 1060 km south-southeast of Paradip (Odisha).
Though the meteorological department forecast extreme rainfall activities from Friday and wind speed reaching 100 kmph when the cyclone reaches close to Odisha coast on Saturday, it is yet to give details about the possible place of the land fall and also the exact wind speed to be faced by the people.
The bulletin said that most of the models are indicating that the current depression will intensify into a cyclonic storm on Friday. However, there is some divergence among them. These indicate that the system will move west-northwestwards initially and there will be gradual changes in movement to northeast/northnorthwest till December 4 evening, it said.
The system will then re-curve north-northeastwards and some models indicate that the system will cross north Andhra Pradesh-south Odisha coast in the late night hours of December 4.
Odisha special relief commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said the state government has kept 249 teams comprising 17 of NDRF, 60 of ODRAF and 172 teams of fire service personnel ready and has deputed them to the districts for deployment. “As soon as we get detailed information they will be deployed,” he said.
The district collectors of some vulnerable districts have been asked to evacuate people from low lying areas and those living in kutcha houses as there was fear of tidal surge during the possible cyclone, Jena said.
