Deep depression in Bay of Bengal: Odisha puts all 30 districts on alert

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Sunday put all 30 districts on alert as the depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression and is slowly moving towards the east coast, officials said.

Odisha will experience very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall on October 28 and 29, they said.

The IMD has issued a red alert for five Odisha districts - Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati and Ganjam - and orange and yellow alerts for several other districts.

The weather office also hoisted Distant Cautionary Signal No-I (DC-1) at all ports of Odisha and advised fishermen not to venture into the sea till October 29.

An alert has been sounded across the Odisha coast from Ganjam to Balasore, with authorities urging fishermen and people to stay vigilant and not to venture into the sea as the conditions would be rough.

Authorities are using loudspeakers and megaphones to alert fishermen who ventured into the sea, urging them to return to the shore immediately.

The administration is closely monitoring the situation to ensure the safe return of all fishing boats, officials said.

Odisha's Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said all 30 districts in the state have been put on alert with men and machinery ready for rescue and relief operations.

The minister said District Collectors have been directed to evacuate people from low-lying areas due to impending heavy rainfall and places likely to be hit by surface wind.

Seven districts in the southern and coastal areas have cancelled the leave of government employees, keeping in view the urgency of the situation.

Gajapti District Collector Madhumita said relocation of pregnant women and vulnerable people has begun. The people living in vulnerable areas and kutcha houses are being evacuated to safe shelter, she said.

All Anganwadi centres and schools will remain closed till October 30, and two ODRAF teams have been deployed in the district, she said.

The Puri administration has imposed restrictions on the entry of tourists to the sea beaches on October 27, 28 and 29 in view of the impending cyclone.

The IMD said, "At 8.30 am this morning, the system was located about 620 km west of Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, 780 km of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, 830 km of Visakhapatnam & Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and 930 km of Gopalpur in Odisha." "It is likely to move nearly west-northwestwards, intensify further into a cyclonic storm over southwest and adjoining west central Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours," the mid-day bulletin issued at 1 pm said.

The cyclone will further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by October 28 morning and is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada, during the evening/night of October 28 with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph, gusting to 110 kmph.