Cyclone Asani likely to weaken as it curves away from east coast
Bureau,Odishabarta
Bhubaneswar: Severe cyclonic storm Asani which packed gale-force winds up to 120 kmph, is likely to curve away from the coast and run parallel to the east coast in a north-northeast-ward direction and gradually weaken, the Met office said on Monday. Coming close to North Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coasts, it is likely to lessen in intensity into a cyclonic storm by Tuesday night.
The cyclone will not make landfall either in Odisha or Andhra Pradesh but will move parallel to the east coast and cause heavy rain, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra had said on Sunday. At least 11 fishermen from Odisha, who were stranded for around eight hours in the rough sea due to the raging severe cyclone ‘Asani’, were rescued on Monday with help of the Indian Coast Guard, an official said.
The fishermen had on May 7 gone to Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam to buy a fishing boat, and while returning from there, they were stuck in the sea around 4-5 km off the coast near Sonaput in Ganjam district after their newly-bought vessel developed some technical glitches, he said.
The cyclonic storm system, which lay about 410 km southeast of Visakhapatnam and 590 km south of Puri at 2.30 pm on Monday, is moving in a north-westward direction with a sustained surface wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph. It caused heavy to moderate rainfall in Odisha and West Bengal during the day.
Under the influence of the cyclone, coastal Odisha and adjoining areas of north coastal Andhra Pradesh and coastal West Bengal are expected to receive more rainfall from Tuesday evening. The weather office said very high sea conditions were likely to prevail over west-central and adjoining south Bay of Bengal and asked fishermen not to venture out in the region from Tuesday for at least two days. It also advised that tourism activities in coastal areas and sea beaches be suspended till May 13.
In Odisha, two to three spells of rain occurred in districts such as Khurda, Ganjam, Puri, Cuttack and Bhadrak. Odisha Government on Monday planned evacuation of people residing in four coastal districts. Distant warning signal 2 (asking ships not to come near the coast) has been hoisted in all ports in Odisha in view of the approaching severe cyclone.
The cyclone is likely to cause heavy rain in the southern part of West Bengal including Kolkata, Howrah, Purba Medinipur, North and South 24 Parganas and Nadia districts between Monday and Thursday, the weatherman said.
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