Cyclone forecast to cross Andhra Pradesh coast on October 28 as rain kills two in Kerala
India's weather office expects a very severe cyclonic storm to make landfall between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, with winds gusting to 140 km/h.
A weather system in the Bay of Bengal is expected to strengthen into a very severe cyclonic storm and cross India's east coast by the forenoon of October 28, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) as reported by The Hindu. Landfall is forecast on the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, with sustained winds of 115 to 125 km/h gusting to 140 km/h.
NDTV has named the storm Cyclone Arnab. The outlet said cyclones are given names so that warnings are easier to remember and communicate.
The Hindu reported that the depression became a deep depression on Sunday and was centred at 11.30am about 420 km north-northwest of Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andaman Islands and 870 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam. The IMD expects it to become a cyclonic storm by early the next morning and a severe cyclonic storm over the westcentral Bay of Bengal around Tuesday morning, October 27. Most of The Hindu's updates describe the expected peak as a very severe cyclonic storm, but one entry refers to an "extremely severe" cyclonic storm.
The IMD has forecast extremely heavy rainfall over coastal Andhra Pradesh on October 27 and 28, over Odisha and Telangana on October 28 and over Chhattisgarh on October 28 and 29. West Bengal is expected to get heavy rain from October 28 to 30, and fishermen there have been told not to go to sea from October 27.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has ordered a high alert, The Hindu reported. Ten National Disaster Response Force teams and 11 state teams are ready for evacuation, relief and power restoration. Mr Naidu told officials to keep fishermen off the sea, warn residents of low-lying areas and set up toll-free emergency numbers. Power utilities have 25,000 poles on standby. Fishing communities on the Kakinada coast have been told to stop work and return to their landing centres.
An IMD official in Chennai said the system was unlikely to affect Tamil Nadu. Rain in that state is being driven by a separate system over the southeast Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep, the official said.
Heavy northeast monsoon rain continued across southern India on Sunday. In Kerala, two cardamom plantation workers, Silliyamma, 65, and Veeralakshmi, 45, were killed when a tree fell on them at Mankulam in Idukki district. The IMD issued red alerts for Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts. A red alert indicates more than 20 cm of rain in 24 hours.
Palakkad District Collector K. Sudheer said all educational institutions in the district, including professional colleges, would be closed on Monday.
Sources: The Hindu, Monsoon tracker updates: Depression over Bay of Bengal set to become ‘very severe cyclonic storm’, cross A.P. coast by October 28; NDTV, Cyclone Arnab: Origin Of The Name And What You Need To Know.
