Odisha stares at Cyclone 'Gulab'

Bhubaneswar: Barely four months after Yaas' wreaked havoc in Odisha, the coastal state is bracing for another cyclone, 'Gulab', which is likely to make landfall on Sunday evening between Gopalpur and Kalingapatanam in Andhra Pradesh, the India Meteorological Department said.

The deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into cyclone 'Gulab' on Saturday and an 'orange' alert has been issued for north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha coasts, it said.

Cyclone Gulab', as named by Pakistan, lay centered about 370 km east-southeast of Gopalpur in Odisha and 440 km east of Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and it moved nearly westwards with a speed of 7 kmph in the last six hours, the IMD said. The system is likely to move nearly westwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh-South Odisha coasts between Kalingapatnam and Gopalpur around evening on September 26, IMD Director-General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said.

The Odisha government has already mobilised men and machinery, and launched an evacuation drive in seven identified districts in the southern parts of the state. The maximum focus is on Ganjam and Gajapati, a senior official at the Special Relief Commissioner's Office here said.

Mohapatra said the wind speed of the weather system will vary between 75 kmph and 85 kmph, gusting up to 95 kmph.

"Many low-lying areas will be inundated in the identified districts. Flash floods are feared in the hilly areas of Odisha's southern region. Urban pockets in Ganjam and Puri could experience waterlogging due to heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall in parts," he said. The district collectors of Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada and Koraput have also taken precaution against possible landslides in view of the downpour and high-velocity winds, officials said.

As many as 42 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and 24 squads of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), along with about 102 teams of fire brigade personnel, have been dispatched to the seven districts -- Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Kandhamal, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said.

Ganjam is expected to be severely affected by the cyclonic storm, and 15 rescue teams have been deployed in that area alone, Jena said.