Cyclone Gulab: Cabinet secretary holds meeting, 18 NDRF teams being deployed

Rescue and relief teams of the Army and Navy along with ships and aircraft have also been deployed near Odisha and Andhra Pradesh coasts. The weather department has issued a yellow alert for area around Kalingapatnam - Vishakhapatnam and Gopalpur - from where the cyclone is expected to cross.

A deep depression over Bay of Bengal will intensify on Saturday evening and make landfall as a cyclone on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. It has issued an alert for Cyclone Gulab for north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha coasts.

When cyclone Gulab crosses the Odisha coast on Sunday, very heavy rain is expected there and over Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, a weather expert said.(PTI Photo)

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, meanwhile, chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) today evening to review the preparedness of various ministries and agencies to deal with the approaching deep depression.

The IMD said on Twitter that the storm is about 410 km eastsoutheast of Gopalpur and 480 km eastnortheast of Kalingapatnam.

Here are the latest developments:

• In the meeting, the Director General of IMD informed government officials that the cyclone is expected to cross the north Andhra Pradesh and South Odisha coasts by the evening of September 26, with wind speeds ranging from 75-85 km per hour, gusting to 95 km per hour.

• It is likely to affect the districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Ganjam and Gajapati in Odisha, the IMD chief said.

• The Cabinet Secretary assured the state governments that all Central agencies are ready and will be available for assistance with the aim to keep the loss of lives to near zero and minimize damage to property and infrastructure.

• The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has begun deploying a total of 18 teams in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in view of a cyclonic storm forming over the Bay of Bengal.

• NDRF director general S N Pradhan tweeted that the teams - 13 in Odisha and five in Andhra Pradesh - will be in place by Saturday night.

• The NDRF teams in Odisha will be deployed in Balasore, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Nayagarh and Malkangiri districts. In Andhra Pradesh, the teams will be deployed in Vishakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Yanam and Vizianagaram.

• Rescue and relief teams of the Army and Navy along with ships and aircraft have also been deployed.

• The weather department has issued a yellow alert for area around Kalingapatnam - Vishakhapatnam and Gopalpur - from where the cyclone is expected to cross.

• During the next three days, the sea condition will be rough in the coastal areas of Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

• The Coast Guard has alerted the fishermen in the area by broadcasting weather warnings against the low-pressure area. They have been advised not to venture into deep sea from September 25 onwards till further notice.