E-Paper
Cyclone Gulab to make landfall between Odisha and Andhra: All you need to know
Cyclone Gulab will be the second storm in the last four months to hit Odisha, after cyclone Yaas hit the coastal state in May this year
Cyclone ‘Gulab’ is likely to make landfall between Gopalpur in Odisha and Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh between late Sunday evening and midnight, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a forecast. Odisha’s southern and central regions woke up to heavy rainfall on Sunday morning.
Heavy rainfall alert has also been issued for states like West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana, among others. Read on to find out more about the impending cyclone.
1. Cyclone Gulab will be the second storm in the last four months to hit Odisha, after cyclone Yaas hit the coastal state in May this year.
2. IMD has predicted that over the next three days, after Gulab makes landfall, conditions will be rough at sea, and has warned fishermen from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha to not venture out into east-central and adjoining northeast Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
3. The districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, and Kandhamal in Odisha are predicted to bear the maximum burnt of cyclone Gulab.
4. In neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh authorities have made plans to shift around 86,000 families from the districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, the state government said on Saturday.
5. In preparation for cyclone Gulab the National Disaster Response Force has stationed 13 teams, and 24 sub teams in Odisha, and five in Andhra Pradesh.
6. In addition to this, around 42 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and 102 teams of fire brigade personnel have been deployed in Odisha in the most vulnerable seven districts.
7. Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena has predicted the intensity of Gulab will be similar to cyclone ‘Titli’, which battered Odisha in 2018.
8. During landfall, the wind speed is predicted to hover between 90kmph and 100 kmph. Barring that period, the velocity of winds on Sunday is expected to be limited to 70kmph. On Sunday morning the speed of the cyclone system was at 18kmph.
9. Gulab is also expected to impact West Bengal after it reaches the state’s coast on September 29. Heavy rainfall and winds are expected over Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, East and West Medinipur, Jhargram, Howrah and Hooghly on September 28 and 29.
10. The West Bengal government has cancelled leaves of all state government employees till October 5 in anticipation of heavy rainfall that will be lashing the state due to a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal
