Cyclone Asani: Heavy Rains Lash Andhra, Flights Cancelled; Ganjam Beaches Closed as Odisha to Face Brunt for Next 2 Days, Bengal on Alert

Severe cyclone Asani neared the east coast, packing gale-force winds up to 105 kmph, amid indication of gradual weakening on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The cyclone, which was moving at a speed of 25 kmph on Monday, has slowed down to 5 kmph as it lays centered around 300 km southeast of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and 510 km south-southwest of Gopalpur in Odisha.

The system is expected to recurve on Tuesday night and move parallel to the coast in the north-northeast direction. “The severe cyclonic storm has already started losing steam and it will further weaken into a cyclonic storm during the next 24 hours as it nears the coast and makes the recurve,” Bhubaneswar Regional Meteorological Centre Director H R Biswas said.

He said the gale-force wind speed will decline to 80-90 kmph by Tuesday night and to 60-70 kmph by Wednesday evening. The MeT Department has warned fishermen against venturing into deep sea till Thursday, as Odisha braced for heavy rain in the coastal areas. Rainfall was recorded in Ganjam, Puri and Khurda on Tuesday morning.

Coastal city of Visakhapatnam was receiving heavy spells of rain with gusty winds, throwing the normal life out of gear and disrupting vehicular traffic. The cyclone will not make landfall either in Odisha or Andhra Pradesh but will move parallel to the east coast and cause heavy rain, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra had said in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

As the cyclone is nearing the coast, Odisha’s Ganjam Administration has announced the closure of all sea beaches in Ganjam including the Gopalpur Sea Beach for today and tomorrow, news agency ANI reported.

At least 11 fishermen from Odisha, who were stranded for around eight hours in the rough sea due to the raging severe cyclone ‘Asani’, were rescued on Monday with help of the Indian Coast Guard, an official said.

Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority has asked people to remain alert in view of the forecast of heavy rains in coastal Andhra from Tuesday evening. Gusty winds with speed of 40-60 kmph are likely along the coast.

The State Disaster Management Authority has advised people of north coastal Andhra to be on high alert. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea till Thursday and those already at sea have been advised to return.

Bad weather at Visakhapatnam under the impact of severe cyclonic storm ‘Asani’ in Bay of Bengal hit the flight operations at the airport in the Andhra Pradesh coastal city on Monday.

Flights from Kurnool, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad could not land at Visakhapatnam Airport due to bad weather and had to be sent back and several had to be cancelled.

Bengal

Although the direct impact of cyclone Asani is unlikely on West Bengal as per predictions of the Met department, medium to heavy rains are predicted in certain districts of the state for next two days. The coastal districts in the state are most vulnerable on this count.

Medium to heavy rains are mainly predicted in the districts of East Midnapore, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Howrah. Medium to heavy rains are also predicted in the state capital of Kolkata.

However, the state administration and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) have already taken all necessary precautions to ensure that the impact of Asani causes minimum loss. Employees of the state disaster management department, police department, state fire services department, state power department are on alert.

The IMD has predicted that the quantum of rains and stormy winds’ impact will increase from Tuesday especially in the coastal zones and the districts where medium to heavy rains have been predicted.

Tamil Nadu

Ten flights from the Chennai airport were cancelled, including to from Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and Hyderabad, due to the heavy downpour.

Koyambedu, Anna Nagar, Choolaimedu and Nungambakkam areas in Chennai are facing heavy rains and the suburbs of the city like Alandur, Madipakkam, Poonamalle, Maduravoyal and Meenambakkam are recording steady rains. Pammal area near the airport is also receiving heavy rains.

Chennai is likely to experience a spike in temperature this weekend after the effect of Asani passes in the next two days, according to weather analyser Pradeep John.

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