MeT office forecasts cyclonic storm in next 48 hrs; Chief Secy assesses preparedness

Kolkata: A day when the Alipore weather office confirmed that the low-pressure area formed over the South Andaman Sea and adjoining south-east Bay of Bengal will transform into a cyclonic storm in the next 48 hours, Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi held a coordination meeting at Nabanna to assess the preparedness.

Apart from senior officials of all concerned government departments, Railways, Navy, Airport, Army, and NDRF were present in the meeting that was attended by all the District Magistrates in virtual mode.

Though the exact timing and the location of landfall are yet to be predicted, the weather office has said that Gangetic Bengal may experience rain/thunderstorms with lightning and heavy rainfall from May 10 to 13. In fact, all the districts in South Bengal may receive rainfall from Tuesday.

The movement of the cyclone is likely to be initiated towards the north-west and reach west-central Bay of Bengal of north Andhra-Odisha coast by May 10. Fishermen have been advised not to venture along and off the Bengal coast from May 10.

The Chief Secretary asked the DVC authorities not to release water without advance intimation to the state government and also discussed measures for developing state-of-the-art facilities at the integrated disaster control room at Nabanna.

The Chief Secretary further instructed for overseeing the embankments that have been thoroughly repaired following massive damage after Amphan in May 2020 and Yaas in June 2021.

The District Magistrates of the coastal districts – South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore were asked to ensure that the cyclone centres are ready and necessary relief materials are procured well in advance so that they can reach affected people in case there is a natural disaster.

"May and June are the months that are known to witness cyclonic storms. So, prepare in advance to ensure there is no loss of human lives. The coordination with the central agencies comes in handy during prompt relief operations," a senior Nabanna official who attended the meeting said.