Cyclone Jawad is likely to reach north coastal Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coast by the morning of December 4, informed the Meteorological Department (IMD), Amaravati Director Stella Samuel on Friday.
The storm was located nearly 400 kms away from Visakhapatnam as of Friday noon.
After hitting the Andhra Pradesh-south Odisha coast, it is likely to recurve north-northeastwards and move along the Odisha coast, reaching near Puri on December 5. It is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards towards the West Bengal coast.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has earmarked a total of 64 teams to tackle the situation arising out of the impending cyclonic storm ‘Jawad’ that is expected to affect the states of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal this weekend, a senior officer said on Friday.
According to the weather department, very heavy rainfall is likely to start in north coastal Andhra Pradesh and south coastal Odisha by Friday evening. The intensity of rainfall is likely to increase on Saturday. The low low-pressure area had developed over the Andaman Sea on November 30, the IMD said.
A red alert has been issued for Srikakulam, Vizianagram and Visakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh and Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur districts of Odisha for Saturday.
The name of the cyclone – ‘Jawad’ – has been proposed by Saudi Arabia.
The Konark Festival and International Sand Art Festival have been called off due to warnings issued by the IMD and the special relief commissioner PK Jena, said the state tourism department.
Sea conditions will remain unsafe for shipping and fishermen in central and north Bay of Bengal from Friday to Sunday.
“Fishermen are advised not to venture in the sea as the gale wind speed of 90 to 100 kmph is likely to occur over the Bay of Bengal,” the IMD has said.
Odisha has banned all fishing activities in the Bay of Bengal as well as the Chilika Lake.
Around 65 trains from Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam district scheduled for 3 and 4 December have been cancelled, informed the East Coast Railways on Friday.
