New Delhi
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported on Friday that a severe cyclonic storm is likely to hit the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara around midnight on Sunday, May 26. This storm is due to a depression formed over the central Bay of Bengal, moving northward.
The low-pressure area over the west-central and south Bay of Bengal became a depression on May 24, about 800 km south-southwest of Khepupara, Bangladesh, and 810 km south of Canning, West Bengal. It is expected to cross the Bangladesh and West Bengal coasts as a severe cyclonic storm on May 26.
IMD forecasts light to moderate rainfall in most areas, with heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places over the coastal districts of West Bengal and North Odisha on May 26 and 27. Coastal West Bengal may experience extremely heavy rainfall on May 26. Similar conditions are expected in Mizoram, Tripura, and South Manipur on May 26, and in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, and Tripura on May 27 and 28.
Winds of 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, are expected over the central and south Bay of Bengal on May 24, increasing along the Bangladesh, West Bengal, and North Odisha coasts from May 25, reaching 100-120 kmph by May 26. Rough sea conditions are likely, and fishermen are advised to avoid the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea until May 27 and return to the coast if already at sea.
