Cyclone alert for Andhra Pradesh, south Odisha as depression likely to intensify into severe storm

A cyclone alert has been issued for the Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts as a depression over the Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm on Monday and a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The weather system, currently over the southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal, is moving north-northwestwards and is likely to strengthen further before heading towards the Andhra Pradesh coast over the next few days.

Cyclone to intensify over Bay of Bengal

According to the IMD’s bulletin issued on Sunday afternoon, the depression moved north-northwestwards at a speed of 15 kmph over the preceding six hours.

At 11.30 am on Sunday, it was centred over the southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal, approximately 620 km east-northeast of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka, 680 km west-southwest of Sri Vijayapuram in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 800 km east-southeast of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, 960 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and 1,070 km south-southeast of Gopalpur in Odisha.

The IMD said the system was very likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm over the central parts of the south and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal on November 16. It is expected to strengthen further into a severe cyclonic storm over the westcentral Bay of Bengal on November 17.

The system is then likely to intensify further and move north-westwards towards the Andhra Pradesh coast over the following two days.

Fishermen and people living in coastal areas have been advised to follow official IMD updates and weather warnings.

Heavy rain, strong winds likely in North Andhra

The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) has warned that the severe cyclonic storm is likely to approach the North Andhra coastal region.

Heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds is expected in parts of North Andhra on Thursday and Friday under the system’s influence, said Prakhar Jain, Managing Director of the State Disaster Management Authority and Chief Executive Officer of the Real-Time Governance Society (RTGS).

He urged residents and farmers to take necessary precautions ahead of the expected adverse weather conditions.

Third cyclonic storm to approach Andhra coast in 20 days

The developing system will be the third cyclonic storm to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast within a span of 20 days.

Very severe cyclonic storm ‘Arnab’ struck the state’s coastline near Narsapuram on October 27. This was followed by severe cyclonic storm ‘Murasu’, which crossed the coast between Nellore and Narasapur on November 3.

The two cyclones, which struck within a week of each other, claimed 15 lives and caused extensive damage to infrastructure and crops across coastal districts.

(with IANS inputs)