Hummingbird News Desk
KOLKATA, 23 MAY: The low-pressure area over Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression, the Indian Meteorological Department has said. The deep depression will move north-northwestwards and will intensify further into a cyclonic storm by 24 May, the IMD added.
The cyclonic storm has been named Cyclone Yaas, a name given by Oman, which refers to a fragrant tree, similar to jasmine in English. Cyclone Yaas is very likely to cross north Odisha-West Bengal between Paradip and Sagar islands by evening of 26 May as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm, the IMD said.
“Latest satellite imageries and Ocean Buoy observations indicate that yesterday’s (May 22) low pressure area which became well marked over east central Bay of Bengal in the same evening has concentrated into a Depression over east-central Bay of Bengal and lay centred at 1130 hrs IST of today, the 23rd May, 2021 near latitude 16.1°N and longitude 90.2°E, about 560 km north-northwest of Port Blair (Andaman Islands), 590 km east-southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 690 km south-southeast of Balasore (Odisha) and 670 km south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal),” a bulletin by IMD on May 23 said.
“It is very likely to move north-northwestwards and intensify into a Cyclonic Storm by 24th May morning and further into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm during the subsequent 24 hours. It would continue to move north-northwestwards, intensify further and reach Northwest Bay of Bengal near West Bengal and north Odisha coasts by 26th May morning,” the IMD said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that the cyclone is expected to cross West Bengal and north Odisha coasts by 26 May evening with the wind speed ranging 155-165 kmph and gusting to 185 kmph. It is likely to cause heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal and north Odisha.
The IMD has also warned of storm surge in coastal areas of West Bengal and Odisha. The IMD has been issuing regular bulletins with the latest forecast to all states.
The exact point of landfall cannot be determined as of now, said Sanjeev Banerjee, Director of IMD in Kolkata.
“From May 25, Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas in West Bengal will face rainfall. This will turn into extremely heavy rainfall, including in Kolkata, on May 26,” Banerjee continued.
While wind speed will hover around 50-60 km per hour on May 25, it is likely to increase to around 100 km per hour on May 26. By the evening of the same day, wind speed will reach 155 km per hour.
“As there is a depression, there is a range. Unless it becomes a cyclonic storm, it cannot be predicted,” Banerjee said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is reviewing the situation and is in touch with the state governments, union territories and the central agencies concerned.
It has already released the first instalment of SDRF in advance to all states, and the National Disaster Response Force has pre-positioned 46 teams which are equipped with boats, tree-cutters, telecom equipment in five states and UT. In addition, 13 teams are being airlifted on Sunday for deployment and 10 teams have been kept on standby, the PMO noted.
Tags: #CycloneYaas #IMD #cyclone #YaasCyclone #CycloneAlert #Cyclone #Yaas #Kolkata #Odisha #WestBengal #Weather
