With hours remaining for the weather phenomenon in the Bay of Bengal to cross North Andhra Pradesh and South Odisha coasts, authorities and residents are awaiting the meterological department’s word on whether the deep depression will intensify into a cyclone.
According to the latest alert by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the deep depression lies centred over 70 km from Kalingapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 150 km from Gopalpur (Odisha), 230 km from Puri (Odisha) and 150 km east of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
The system would continue to move and was very likely to cross the north Andhra Pradesh-South Odisha coasts between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur as a Deep Depression by Wednesday night. Under its influence, a large part of southern and coastal Odisha has received heavy to very heavy rainfall since Monday.
However, the IMD is yet to confirm whether the deep depression will intensify into Cyclone Arnab. To become a cyclonic storm, a system must exceed a certain wind speed threshold. A system with winds of 34 knots (63 km/h) or more is called a cyclonic storm.
However, before touching the coast, the wind speed at sea may be 55 to 65 km per hour and a maximum of 75 km per hour, according to IMD DG Mironjay Mohapatra.
During the day, the depression was moving forward at a speed of about 8 km per hour with a gustiness of 40 to 50 km. However, after taking the form of a deep depression, the wind speed has gradually increased, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has informed.
The IMD has warned of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in South Odisha on Wednesday and Thursday. Heavy rain is likely in some areas on Friday and Saturday. The weather office has issued a Red Warning (rainfall above 20 cm) for the districts of Koraput, Gajapati and Ganjam on Wednesday and Thursday, while a similar warning has been issued for Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput, and Malkangiri over the next two days.
The Meteorological Department has issued a red alert in Andhra Pradesh, stating that flash floods are likely to occur. The government has declared a holiday for all educational institutions in Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Anakapalle, Alluri Seetharamaraju and Parvathipuram Manyam districts on Wednesday.
