The Low Pressure Area over north Andaman Sea and south-east Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression on Saturday morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. It is likely to move west-northwestwards and concentrate into a depression, and deep depression thereafter on October 23.
It is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm and reach West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts on October 25, the IMD said. The cyclone will be called Sitrang, as suggested by Thailand. This will be the first cyclone to strike the Bay of Bengal since October 2018.
West Bengal and Odisha are on high alert, though the IMD has said the cyclone is likely to skirt the Odisha coast. However, the weather system is expected to trigger heavy rainfall and winds at a maximum speed of 50 to 60 kmph as it crosses parallel to the state's coast.
The West Bengal government has started evacuating people from low-lying areas in several districts, officials said. Sanjib Bandopadhyay, the deputy director-general of Regional Met Centre in Kolkata, said that the system is likely to cause light to moderate rain in Gangetic West Bengal, with isolated heavy rain in the coastal districts of South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur.
West Bengal's Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi chaired a high-level meeting on Friday with top state officials. He directed South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur and Hooghly districts to take necessary precautions in the wake of the forecast. Control rooms will be opened in these places and leaves of all senior district officials have been cancelled.
Twenty teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and 15 teams of the NDRF will be on standby.
-with PTI inputs
