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Cyclone Gulab: Storm less than 100km from Odisha, Andhra; landfall process to begin shortly
Seven districts of Odisha have been put on high alert, while the Andhra Pradesh government has issued an alert in three coastal regions of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, and Vizianagaram.
Cyclone Gulab, which is expected to cross between the coasts of Andhra Pradesh’s Kalingapatnam and Odisha’s Gopalpur is less than 100km from both the regions, according to the latest updates by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The landfall process will start from 6pm onwards on Sunday, and the storm will hit by midnight, the IMD added.
“Cyclonic storm Gulab centered at 4.30pm IST of September 26 about 85 km east-northeast of Kalingapatnam and 95 km south of Gopalpur,” IMD tweeted.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who is Delhi currently, held a virtual review meeting on Sunday in order to gauge the state’s preparedness to combat the second cyclone to hit the state in the past four months. Speaking to reporters, Patnaik said that a total of 10 districts in the state will be affected by Cyclone Gulab on Sunday evening, according to ANI.
Earlier in the day, seven districts of Odisha, including Ganjam, Rayagada, and Malkangiri, among others, were put on alert due to being in the path of the cyclone. Special relief commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said that as many as 103 fire services, 42 squads of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and 24 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been dispatched in the state ahead of Cyclone Gulab’s landfall.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh government-led by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, has put three north coastal districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, and Vizianagaram, along with ports of Kakinada and Gangavaram on high alert.
