According the Met department, with cyclone ‘Bulbul’ over the Bay of Bengal set to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm, triggering heavy rain in parts of Odisha and West Bengal, the two states are bracing for the situation.
The weather department said that the cyclone, situated 750 km south of Kolkata in the afternoon, is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by Thursday night and into a very severe cyclonic storm by Friday.
In view of the weather condition,the state governments of Odisha and West Bengal are taking measures to make certain that damage from the storm is limited even as the Centre assured them of all help. The cyclone is likely to move initially north-northwestwards and then nearly northwards till 9th of November.Then it will re-curve northeastwards towards Bangladesh and adjacent West Bengal, skirting Odisha, and cause heavy to very heavy rain in the coastal districts of North Odisha and West Bengal for incessantly three days from Friday.
The weather department forecasts probable damage to thatched roofs, embankments and roads in the coastal districts of North Odisha and West Bengal.So advised people in affected areas to stay indoors and total suspension of fishing from November 8. At a high-level meeting in New Delhi, PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, also assured the states to provide all required central assistance.
The meeting was convened in the wake of concern expressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Top officials of Odisha, West Bengal and Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands attended the meeting through video conference.
The weather department said sea condition will be rough to very rough along and off Odisha and West Bengal coasts from Friday onwards and will become very high on Saturday and Sunday.
It has forecast sustained windspeed of 120 to 130 km per hour with gusts of up to 140 kmph when the cyclone will be at its ‘very severe’ form on Friday and then reduce to a ‘severe’ cyclonic storm on November 9.
In Bhubaneswar,the state capital of Odisha, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), PK Jena said as per IMD predictions, coastal Odisha is likely to experience wind speed of 70-80 kmph gusting up to 90 kmph on Friday accompanied by heavy to very heavy downpour.
In Odisha, all schools and anganwadi centres are declared to remain close on Friday and Saturday in Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts,as said by an official in Bhubaneswar.
Though, the Met department’s forecast that the cyclone may skip Odisha has come as a major respite to the people of the state, who are still struggling to return to normalcy post cyclone Fani in May this year that had claimed more than 64 lives and destroyed around five lakh houses.
