News Analysis India

Tag: Cyclone Asani

  • After Lanka’s Asani, India’s turn to name cyclone not far 

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: The formation of tropical cyclones is not new and neither is their naming. But this one – Asani – has caught the attention of many. This is not just because of its movement, the heavy rainfall and the drop in mercury levels. But because of its name. 

    It has been named by Sri Lanka and means Raat (night). That is not all, officials from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said with the increasing formation of cyclones, India’s turn to name the cyclone, which is fifth in the list, will come soon. 

    As per the World Meteorological Organisation’s National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, 13 countries suggest list of names for cyclones forming in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, which are to be used alphabetically country wise. The list of countries in the panel include – Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. 

    “Asani is the first cyclone of this year and as per order, it was Sri Lanka’s turn to name it. The next will be named by Thailand as Sitrang. The next name suggested by India is Tej and it will come fifth in line. But going by the increasing formation of cyclones over the years, the turn of India is not far behind,” a senior IMD official told TNIE. 

  • Cyclonic storm Asani likely to weaken as it curves away from the east coast

    By PTI

    BHUBANESWAR/KOLKATA/RANCHI: Severe cyclonic storm Asani which packed gale-force winds up to 120 kmph, is likely to curve away from the coast and run parallel to the east coast in a north-northeast-ward direction and gradually weaken, the Met office said on Monday.

    Coming close to North Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coasts, it is likely to lessen in intensity into a cyclonic storm by Tuesday night.

    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.

    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.

    The fishermen had on May 7 gone to Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam to buy a fishing boat, and while returning from there, they were stuck in the sea around 4-5 km off the coast near Sonaput in Ganjam district after their newly-bought vessel developed some technical glitches, he said.

    The cyclonic storm system, which lay about 410 km southeast of Visakhapatnam and 590 km south of Puri at 2.30 pm on Monday, is moving in a north-westward direction with a sustained surface wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph. It caused heavy to moderate rainfall in Odisha and West Bengal during the day.

    Under the influence of the cyclone, coastal Odisha and adjoining areas of north coastal Andhra Pradesh and coastal West Bengal are expected to receive more rainfall from Tuesday evening.

    The weather office said that very high sea conditions were likely to prevail over west-central and adjoining south Bay of Bengal and asked fishermen not to venture out in the region from Tuesday for at least two days. It also advised that tourism activities in coastal areas and sea beaches be suspended till May 13.

    In Odisha, two to three spells of rain occurred in districts such as Khurda, Ganjam, Puri, Cuttack and Bhadrak.

    The Odisha government on Monday planned evacuation of people residing in four coastal districts.

    Distant warning signal 2 (asking ships not to come near the coast) has been hoisted in all ports in Odisha in view of the approaching severe cyclone.

    The cyclone is likely to cause heavy rain in the southern part of West Bengal including Kolkata, Howrah, Purba Medinipur, North and South 24 Parganas and Nadia districts between Monday and Thursday, the weatherman said.

    Kolkata and its adjoining areas received a spell of downpour on Monday morning, leading to waterlogging of thoroughfares and causing traffic snarls in various parts of the city. The Regional Met department at Alipore in Kolkata recorded 58 mm rainfall till 5.30 pm, while Salt Lake received 61 mm rainfall.

    The weather office in Ranchi said that Jharkhand will experience light to moderate rainfall, besides lightning and thunderstorm, in its southern, central and northeast parts from May 11 to 13.

    Gusty winds at speed of 30 to 40 kmph are also expected in some pockets.

    “Since the system is unlikely to make landfall on either Odisha or Andhra Pradesh, it will not make any large impact in Jharkhand. The state will experience a change in weather due to the system’s expanded cloud band and the incursion of moisture from the Bay of Bengal,” Ranchi meteorological centre in charge Abhishek Anand told PTI.

    The system is expected to provide further respite from the hot weather condition.

    Jharkhand’s maximum temperature has already dropped by one to two degrees Celsius from the normal due to intermittent rains in parts of the state for the past few days.

    Capital Ranchi registered 34.6 degrees Celsius at 2.30 pm on Monday, a drop of 1.6 degrees Celsius from Sunday. Daltonganj recorded the state’s highest temperature at 39.8 degrees Celsius, a fall of one degree Celsius from the normal since Sunday, and Jamshedpur at 36.6 degrees Celsius, a drop of 2.4 degrees Celsius from the normal temperature, the Met office said.

    In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, however, normal life remained unaffected as no rainfall was experienced on Monday.

    Inter-island ferry services were operational but fishermen were advised not to venture into deep seas, officials said.

  • Asani intensifies into severe cyclonic storm, Odisha, Bengal on alert

    By PTI

    KOLKATA?BHUBANESWAR: Cyclone Asani, formed over the southeast Bay of Bengal, further intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on Sunday evening as it moved northwestwards in the direction of north Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coasts, the Met department said.

    The severe cyclone, on reaching westcentral and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coasts on Tuesday, is very likely to recurve north-northeast wards and move towards northwest Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast, it said.

    The severe cyclonic storm is very likely to lose some steam thereafter and turn into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday and further into a deep depression on Thursday, the Met department said in its forecast of Asani’s track and intensity.

    Stating that the system will not make landfall either in Odisha or Andhra Pradesh, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director-General Mrutunjay Mohaptra said the cyclone will move parallel to the east coast and cause rainfall from Tuesday evening.

    Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said the state government has made adequate arrangement for rescue operations. “We do not see any big danger in the state as the system will pass around 100 kilometer off the coast near Puri,” he said.

    However, rescue teams of NDRF, ODRAF and Fire Services are on standby for any eventuality, he said. A unit of NDRF has been deployed in Balasore and a unit of ODDRAF was sent to Ganjam district.

    ODRAF teams are also on standby in Krushna Prasad, Satpada, Puri and Astarang block in Puri district, and Jagatsinghpur, Mahakalpada and Rajnagar in Kendrapara, and Bhadrak.

    All the districts have been put on alert and collectors have been empowered to undertake evacuation, keeping in view the local situation, Jena said.

    Director-General of Odisha’s Fire Services SK Upadhaya said all the 339 fire stations have been put on alert. “Rainfall activities will commence in the coastal districts from Tuesday evening under the impact of the cyclone,” said Umashankar Das, senior scientist at Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre.

    Heavy rainfall is very likely in some areas of Gajapati, Ganjam and Puri on Tuesday. The next day, heavy rainfall may happen in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack.

    Heavy rainfall is very likely in Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Balasore on Thursday.

    The cyclone is likely to bring in its wake light to moderate rainfall over Gangetic West Bengal from Tuesday to Friday with heavy downpour at one or two places in the coastal districts of the state, the weather office said.

    Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said disaster management teams have been put on alert following the weather forecast.

    Taking lessons from the devastating effects of Amphan super cyclone in May 2020, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation is taking all measures such as keeping cranes, electric saws and earthmovers on standby to clear blockades caused by fallen trees and other debris.

    The administrations of Purba Medinipur, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas are keeping cyclone shelters, schools and other pucca structures ready if evacuation is needed, besides arranging dry food and necessary medicines, a state government official said.

    The weather office advised fishermen not to venture into the sea and along and off West Bengal and Odisha coasts from Tuesday till further notice.

    The system developed from a cyclonic circulation that formed over the South Andaman Sea on May 4 and gradually intensified into a low-pressure area and then into depression and deep depression as it moved northwestwards, leading to the formation of cyclonic storm Asani.

    The system lay 880 km south-southeast of Puri at 5.30 pm, it said.