India - Cyclone Jawad intensifies landfall near Odisha coast on Sunday

(MENAFN- NewsBytes)

Cyclone Jawad is expected to make landfall near coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on Sunday noon, the IMD said. As of Friday morning, the storm was moving north-northwestward at 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph.

Cyclone Jawad would be the third cyclone on the coast of Odisha in just one year. Two other cyclones—Cyclone Yaas and Cyclone Gulab—hit the state in May and September, respectively. The impact of Jawad will be witnessed most in north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts. However, its influence will also be witnessed in West Bengal and some northeastern states.

According to IMD, light to moderate rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall will occur over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and south coastal Odisha , and north coastal Andhra Pradesh on Friday. After Jawad makes landfall, heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is expected over Andhra Pradesh and Odisha along with Gangetic West Bengal, the IMD said.

Cyclone Jawad is likely to impact Vishakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram, and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh , along with the coastal districts of Odisha and West Bengal. The IMD has issued a red alert for Odisha's Ganjam, Puri, Gajapati, and Jagatsinghpur districts. It also issued an orange alert for Cuttack, Nayagarh, Khurda, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Kendrapara, and Koraput districts; and a yellow alert for Jajpur, Bhadrak, Malkangiri, and Balasore.

As many as eight teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in West Bengal as a precautionary measure to tackle the impact of Cyclone Jawad. Heavy damage to crops and property is feared across coastal West Bengal. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee chaired a high-level meeting and took stock of the state's cyclone preparedness.

Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy held a review meeting with district collectors of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and Vishakapatnam. He reportedly discussed the required steps to minimize the impact of the cyclone. Reddy asked officials to set up relief camps at required locations. He also asked officials to be alert in low-lying areas. Special officers were also appointed for Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and Vishakapatnam districts.

The Odisha government has also directed district collectors of 13 districts to make arrangements for evacuation operations in their regions before Jawad makes landfall. Odisha relief commissioner PK Jena said they are planning to deploy 266 teams, comprising NDRF, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force, and the fire department personnel for relief and rescue operations.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a meeting on Cyclone Jawad. He directed officials to ensure the safe evacuation of people. All concerned central ministries are working in unison to minimize the cyclone's impact, Modi said. Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also held a review meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) on Wednesday. The meeting focused on cyclone preparedness.

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