Will Puri, Gopalpur Face Impact Of ‘Super Cyclone’ Amphan? Know What IMD DG Has To Say

Bhubaneswar: India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra on Monday said that Amphan is the second super cyclone over the Bay of Bengal after 1999 super cyclone.

He clarified that there is little chance of super cyclone Amphan making landfall in Odisha. However, it will have an impact in the coastal districts of the state.

“Bhadrak and Balasore districts will be more affected because they are closer to the expected landfall point in the Sundarbans,” he said.

The IMD DG said that Puri, which had borne the brunt of cyclone FANI in 2019, will be spared with around 55-60 kmph squally wind.

Besides, there will be no damaging impact near Gopalpur in Ganjam, which is likely to experience wind speed up to 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph, he added.

Earlier in the day, Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, duty officer Uma Shankar Das had said that the wind speed of Amphan during its movement in the sea will be around 220-230 kmph gusting up to 250 kmph, which comes under the super cyclone category.

Talking about the wind speed of the cyclone at the time of the landfall between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) on May 20, he said it will be 145-155 kmph with gusting up to 170 kmph. The wind speed along the north Odisha coast during the period will be 110-120 kmph gusting up to 140 kmph. However, the wind speed along the north Odisha coast from the afternoon on May 19 will be 75-85 kmph gusting up to 95 kmph.

“The wind speed in the north coastal districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Kendrapara and Jajpur will increase on May 20 with 110-120 kmph gusting to 130 kmph. But in other coastal districts like Cuttack, Jagasinghpur, Puri and Khurda the wind speed will be 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph,” Das said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Railways on Monday said that the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar special train will run on a diverted route for the next four days in view of the threat posed by the super cyclone.