Asani, a severe cyclonic storm, has brought heavy rain and strong gusts to the states, including the Puri coast.

  • May 10, 2022, 10:52 a.m.

Severe cyclonic storm Asani is over the west-central region and adjoining southwest region of the Bay of Bengal. The Met department earlier said it was about 590km southwest of Puri and about 510km south-southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha.

The duty officer at the Cyclone Warning Center in Vishakhapatnam said it is 330km south-southeast of the city. "It is likely to move further northwest till tonight, thereafter it'll recurve," the official was quoted as saying by news agency ANI

The storm, which moved at 12 km per hour in a west-northwest direction over the last few hours, would lessen its intensity by Tuesday night as it came closer to the coasts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, and cause heavy rain.

Earlier, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said the cyclone would not make landfall either in Odisha or Andhra Pradesh but would move parallel to the east coast and cause heavy rain.

Meanwhile, the airport authorities in Chennai said 10 flights, including those coming from Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur, and Mumbai, were cancelled due to the cyclone. "Passengers were informed about the same yesterday," an official said.

At least 11 fishermen from Odisha, who were stranded for around eight hours in the rough sea due to the cyclone, were rescued on Monday with the help of the Indian Coast Guard, an official said.

On May 7, the fishermen had gone to Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam to buy a fishing boat, and while returning from there, they were stuck in the sea around 4-5 km off the coast of Sonaput in Ganjam district after their newly bought vessel developed some technical glitches, he said.

The Odisha government had planned the evacuation of people residing in four coastal districts. Distant warning signal 2 (asking ships not to come near the coast) has also been hoisted in all ports in the state.

Besides Odisha and Andhra, heavy rainfall was likely in parts of Telangana, West Bengal, and Jharkhand. The Hyderabad Meteorological Centre said rain and thundershowers are likely to occur at one or two places in some districts of Telangana during the next four-five days under the influence of the cyclone.

In Bengal, a heavy downpour was expected in the southern stretches, including Kolkata, Howrah, Purba Medinipur, North and South 24 Parganas and Nadia districts till Thursday.

Kolkata and its adjoining areas received a spell of downpour on Monday morning, leading to waterlogging of thoroughfares and traffic snarls in various parts of the city.

The weather office in Ranchi said Jharkhand will experience light to moderate rainfall, besides lightning and thunderstorms, in its southern, central, and northeast parts from May 11 to 13.

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

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