Cyclone ‘Fani’ Likely To Hit Odisha Harder Than ‘Titli’: IMD

Bhubaneswar: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday said that the impact of Cyclone Fani in Odisha will be more than that of ‘Titli’, which caused high speed winds, rainfall after making a landfall at Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh last October.

“A clear picture will emerge in the afternoon about the exact location where the cyclonic storm will have the landfall. But there is no denying the fact that Cyclone Fani will have greater impact on Odisha,” director, Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Dr HR Biswas told the media here.

The cyclonic storm will trigger heavy to very heavy rainfall in the south and east coastal districts while there will be isolated heavy rainfall at one or two places in the north Odisha districts, he said.

Referring to the IMD bulletin at 8.30am on Tuesday, Biswas said the severe cyclonic storm ‘Fani’ over southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal has moved north-north-westwards with a speed of about 16 kmph in the last six hours and intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm that lay centred about 670km east-northeast of Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), 690km east-southeast of Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and 760km southeast of Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh). “It is very likely to intensify further into an extremely severe cyclonic storm during the next 36 hours. It is very likely to move northwest till evening on May 1 and thereafter recurve north-northeast towards the Odisha coast,” he added.

“The gale wind speed is very likely to increase gradually, becoming 120-130kmph gusting to 150kmph over southwest and the adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal from today and 160-170kmph gusting to 190kmph over the west-central and the adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal off north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts from the evening of May 1,” Biswas said.

He, however, said that the squally wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph is very likely to commence along and off north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts from May 2 and very likely to become a gale wind with the speed reaching 60-70 kmph gusting to 85 kmph from the morning of May 3. “The wind speed would increase gradually for subsequent 24 hours and decrease thereafter,” he pointed out.

He said the fishermen are advised not to venture into deep sea in the northwest and the adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal along and off the Odisha and West Bengal coasts from May 2 due to the inclement weather. Those, who are out in deep sea above areas, are advised to return to the coasts by evening of May 1.

Meanwhile, distant cautionary signal no-II has been hoisted in all ports in Odisha in view of the approaching cyclonic storm.