Amid intense heatwave in Northern and Central India, the coastal regions of the country are bracing for yet another cyclone that may hit the Indian shores next week.
According to officials, a cyclonic storm is likely to intensify in the low-pressure area that has been developed over the South Andaman Sea and will be making its way to the Andhra Pradesh Odisha shores early next week.
The Met Department said that the weather system over the South Andaman Sea and the southeast Bay of Bengal would most likely move to the north-westwards and by Saturday would strengthen into a depression.
By Sunday evening this phenomenon is likely to intensify into the cyclonic storm, as the weather office has also warned of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms over the Gangetic West Bengal districts between Tuesday and Friday next week.
Following the forecast, the Odisha government have put the fire services teams and disaster response on standby, as the region has as it is witnessed cyclones in the last three summers which include ‘Fani’ in 2019, ‘Amphan’ in 2020 and ‘Yaas’ in 2021.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director-General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said that the low-pressure area is very likely to move north-westwards and intensify into a depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal, which would turn into a cyclonic storm over the east-central Bay of Bengal.
According to Odisha Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena,20 teams of ODRAF (Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force), 17 teams of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) and 175 teams of fire department personnel have been requisitioned. Apart from this, the National Disaster Response Force has been requested to reserve 10 more teams in case of more emergencies.
He also added that the Indian Navy and Coast Guard have also been put on alert to maintain a vigil on fishermen’s movement in the sea.
Further, the telecom service providers and energy department have been immediately asked to take up restoration work in case the towers get affected by the cyclone.