Cyclone alert: State issues advisories to coastal districts

Kolkata: In the wake of a cyclone alert, the state government has issued advisories to the coastal districts asking them to take all possible precautionary measures.

According to sources, the districts like East Midnapore, South 24-Parganas and North 24-Parganas have been put on high alert.

Disaster management department has been asked to take all precautionary arrangements to handle the situation. The MeT department in its latest weather forecast has said the depression over the west central Bay of Bengal moved northwards and has intensified into a deep depression. Thereafter, the cyclone is expected to recurve north-northeast wards and reach Northwest Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast on Friday morning and cross the Bangladesh coast

between Mongla and Khepupara as a deep depression with wind speed 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph on Saturday morning.

Yellow alert has been issued to East Midnapore and Howrah where there will be heavy rainfall on Friday while North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas received an orange alert as they may witness heavy to very heavy rainfall on Friday. Kolkata, Hooghly, Nadia, Murshidabad, West Midnapore and East Burdwan may receive light rainfall in the next 24 hours.

The Alipore MeT office said that the depression has gained strength and turned into a deep depression. It will eventually turn into a cyclone. There will be heavy rainfall in the coastal districts in the next 24 hours. The city received light rainfall on Thursday. According to IMD, the cyclone lay centred about 460 km south-southwest of Digha in West Bengal. According to IMD, light to moderate rainfall at many places with isolated heavy rainfall is likely on Friday over the coastal districts of Odisha and Bengal. Rainfall is also forecast over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura till November 18 and over south Assam and east Meghalaya. Digha, Contai, Haldia, Nandigram in East Midnapore and Diamond Harbour and Sunderbans in South 24-Pargana can expect squally weather and heavy rains.

“Midnapore, Howrah and Kolkata will keep a relatively safe distance from the core of depression. However, cloudy skies with moderate or light showers cannot be ruled out,” a weather official said. Some of the coastal locations in Odisha like Satapada, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Baleswar, Baripada will receive moderate to heavy rainfall.

The MeT office has advised fishermen who are out at sea to return to the coast. It has also advised fishermen not to venture into sea along and off Andhra Pradesh Coast till November 17; along and off Odisha and West Bengal Odisha coast till November 18.