INTRODUCTION
- According to the India Meteorological Department, Cyclone Gulab is likely to make landfall this evening. Two states, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have issued orange alerts ahead of the cyclone’s arrival.
- Heavy to severe thunderstorms with wind speeds of 30-40 km/h has been issued as an orange alert, and are anticipated to hit specific regions of Odisha within 3 hours.
- From the Bay of Bengal, Cyclone Gulab is threatening the states. Puri, Gajapati, Nayagarh, and Khorda, according to IMD Bhubaneswar, are among the districts that are expected to be affected by wind speeds of 30-40 km/h. Moderate rainfall or thunderstorms, as well as one or two heavy rain periods, are possible in these regions.
GULAB CYCLONE UPDATES –
- IMD Bhubaneswar has suggested that movement in the affected regions be avoided. In low-lying locations, waterlogging is also expected, as well as poor visibility and traffic congestion in metropolitan centres.
- The Met department also issued a yellow alert for the districts of Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Rayagada, Bhadrak, and Kendrapara in Odisha.
- The National Weather Service has encouraged people to keep an eye on the weather and migrate to safer areas if necessary to avoid being struck by lightning.
- According to Umashankar Das, a senior scientist at IMD Bhubaneswar, the deep depression over the Bay of Bengal that has developed into Cyclone Gulab is expected to travel westwards and pass between Kalingapatnam and Gopalpur around midnight on September 26.
- Cyclonic Storm ‘#Gulab’ is presently over Northwest & bordering the west-central Bay of Bengal, according to IMD Bhubaneswar. It’s 180 kilometres east of Gopalpur and 240 kilometres east of Kalingapatnam.
KEY POINTS ABOUT CYCLONE–
- In the aftermath of the Met Department’s office report on cyclone warning, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy convened a review meeting on September 25, 2021, on readiness and instructed officials to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of the people. In the Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam districts, the state has built up cyclone chambers in village secretariats and disaster management staff has been ordered to be on high alert.
- District collectors will work to establish relief camps in the relevant areas. Odisha has also begun an evacuation campaign in its seven southern districts, with a particular focus on Ganjam and Gajapati.
- After a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal strengthened into a Cyclonic storm Gulab over the northwest and neighbouring west-central Bay of Bengal, the orange alert was issued. It also had an impact on other states.
