Bhubaneswar: Extremely severe cyclone Fani is gradually inching closer to the coast and is all set to make landfall over the Odisha coast. It is expected to cross Odisha coast near Satpada and Balukhand area in Puri district on May 3 evening, according to Skymetweather.
The cyclone will have a major impact on coastal areas of Odisha and coastal belt of West Bengal. People have been advised not to go near the coast in Odisha and West Bengal from May 3-5.
Forecast by Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command located in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii: Fani would cross near Tandahar (10 km north of Chandrabhaga) in Puri district on May 3 afternoon. The wind speed before land fall would be about 185 kmph and pass through Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore in Odisha before heading towards West Bengal. After landfall it is likely to move to Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore districts of Odisha and then enter West Bengal.
According to latest India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin, the cyclonic storm over westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north-northeastwards with a speed of about 13 kmph in last six hours and lay centred at 1730 hrs IST of 01st May, 2019 over westcentral Bay of Bengal near latitude 14.9°N and longitude 84.1°E, about 570 km south-southwest of Puri (Odisha), 320 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 760 km south-southwest of Digha (West Bengal).
“It is very likely to move north-northeastwards and cross Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, around Puri, during May 3 afternoon with maximum sustained wind speed of 170-180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph,” it added.
Quoting the IMD forecast, Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupad Sethi informed that Fani will is likely to make landfall in Puri at 5:30 pm on May 3.
Storm surge of about 1.5 meter height above astronomical tide is very likely to inundate low lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts at the time of
landfall. Thereafter, it is likely to pass through Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore districts, the IMD further said.
Odisha is now gearing up for heavy to extremely heavy rains with damaging winds, particularly in 12 districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Gopalpur, Khurda, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Rayagada, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Paradip and Balasore.
The Odisha government has declared holiday in schools and colleges in the state in anticipation of the oncoming cyclonic storm.
All three forces Army, Air Force and Navy are on stand by for joint operations across to be affected states of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has moved 41 teams – 8 in Andhra Pradesh, 28 in Odisha and 5 in West Bengal.
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