Cyclone Mocha: Eye Of Storm Crossing Coast; St Martin’s Island In Bangladesh To Briefly Go Underwater

Bhubaneswar: The Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm “Mocha”  is making landfall over Myanmar-Bangladesh coasts and the eye is close to the land, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed on Sunday.

“The system over Northeast Bay of Bengal moved nearly north-northeastwards with a speed of 28 kmph during past 6 hours and lay centered at 12.30 am over Northeast Bay of Bengal close to north Myanmar & southeast Bangladesh coasts, about 30 km west-northwest of Sittwe (Myanmar) and 150 km south-southeast of Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh).

It is very likely to move north-northeastwards and cross southeast Bangladesh and north Myanmar coasts between Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh) and Kyaukpyu (Myanmar), close to north of Sittwe (Myanmar) during next 1 hour as an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 180-190 kmph gusting to 210 kmph, it added.

With winds getting stronger, Saint Martin’s, the one and only coral island of Bangladesh, may go temporarily underwater, head of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) Md Azizur Rahman was quoted as saying by Dhaka Tribune.

“Since there is no major infrastructure on the island, the storm will not get obstructed anywhere and hit the island directly. As the centre of the storm passes over St Martin’s, water will move from one side of the island to the other, and due to the intensity of the storm, the island may be underwater for some time,” he said.

“But the water will not stay still; it may also move away. The situation depends entirely on the speed of the storm,” he added.

Meteorologist Shahinul Islam said the bulk and centre of the storm would pass over Myanmar and the rest would lash Cox’s Bazar coast.

IMPACT ON INDIA

Rainfall

Tripura & Mizoram

Rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places

Nagaland, Manipur & south Assam

Rainfall at many places with Heavy rainfall at isolated places

Squally wind at 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph likely over Tripura, Mizoram and south Manipur. Thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds (speed 30-40 kmph) at isolated places over Rajasthan, Kerala & Mahe; with lightning at isolated places over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan & Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Coastal & South interior Karnataka and Lakshadweep.

Winds and sea condition in Bay of Bengal

Eastcentral Bay of Bengal

Gale wind speed reaching 110-120 kmph gusting to 130 kmph is prevailing over the region. It would decrease gradually to become 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph till evening of 14th May. It would decrease rapidly thereafter.

Adjoining areas of Westcentral Bay of Bengal

Squally wind speed reaching 40-50 gusting to 60 kmph would prevail by 14th evening.

Northeast Bay of Bengal

Gale wind speed reaching 200-210 kmph gusting to 230 kmph is prevailing and it would continue till 14th May noon. It is likely to decrease thereafter to 180-190 kmph gusting to 210 kmph at the time of landfall. It is likely to decrease rapidly after the landfall.

Adjoining areas of Northwest Bay of Bengal

Gale wind speed reaching 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph is prevailing over southeast sector of the region and 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmp