Kolkata/Bhubaneswar: A low-pressure system over the Andaman Sea is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm and reach West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts October 25. The cyclone named Sitrang will reach wind speed gusting to 110 km per hour, the IMD said Friday.
Sanjib Bandopadhyay, Deputy Director-General of the Regional Met Centre in Kolkata, said that the system is likely to cause light to moderate rain in Gangetic West Bengal. However, heavy rains will occur in the coastal districts of South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur. He said that the low-pressure system is likely to cause light to moderate rain in Kolkata October 24 and 25.
“Wind speed of 45 to 55kmph gusting to 65kmph will occur in the coastal districts of South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur October 24, while on October 25, wind speed will reach 90 to 100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph,” Bandopadhyay told reporters here.
Wind speed of 30 to 40kmph gusting to 50kmph will occur in Kolkata and adjoining districts of Howrah and Hooghly, Bandopadhyay said. “It however, will not be a super cyclone and further movement of the system will be updated by the IMD in due course,” Bandopadhyay added.
Super cyclone Amphan, which ravaged the coastal districts of West Bengal in May 2020, had a wind speed of 185kmph when it made landfall near Sundarban, officials said.
Also read: Odisha alerts coastal districts amid cyclone forecast
The West Bengal government has begun the process of evacuating people from low-lying areas in Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas districts to safe shelters in the wake of the cyclone forecast, a senior official informed.
“Leaves of all district magistrates, SPs and emergency department workers have been cancelled as a part of the preparedness for the possible cyclone. Tarpaulin, dry food and medicines have also been adequately stocked in these districts,” the official stated.
The Kolkata Police’s disaster management team has been asked to work in tandem with Kolkata Municipal Corporation to address any emergency, the official added.
Meanwhile Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena appealed to people not to panic as the cyclone is likely to be 200 km away from the state’s coast at Dhamra Port in Bhadrak district when it will head towards West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts.
“The Odisha government is in touch with the NDRF, Indian Navy and Coast Guard in view of the forecast. Odisha coast may experience maximum 50 to 60kmph wind speed when the weather system crosses parallel to the state’s coast,” PK Jena said.
The IMD in its latest forecast said that the low-pressure area over Andaman Sea is likely to move west-northwestwards and concentrate into a depression, and deep depression thereafter October 23. The system is very likely to recurve northwards subsequently and intensify into a cyclonic storm over westcentral and adjoining eastcentral Bay of Bengal by October 24, the Met office said.
The Northeast states, including south Assam, east Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura, will receive rainfall October 24, 25 and 26 under the impact of the low-pressure system, the Met office informed.
