Alert on Andhra coast as cyclonic storm ''Kyant'' advances

Visakhapatnam, October 26

Authorities on the Andhra Pradesh coast were put on alert as cyclonic storm 'Kyant' advanced further in the Bay of Bengal.

The impact of the cyclone will be felt from Thursday with squally winds, rain and rough sea conditions, weather officials said on Wednesday.

The storm over the central Bay of Bengal lay centred 420 km southeast of Gopalpuram, 480 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam and 630 km east-northeast of Machilipatnam at 2.30 pm on Wednesday.

According to an Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin, Kyant moved further west-southwestwards in the past six hours with a speed of 18 kmph.

"It is most likely to move west-southwestwards towards westcentral Bay of Bengal during the next 72 hours," the bulletin said.

Officials said the storm may hit the coast in Prakasam district on Saturday.

Winds reaching speeds of 45-55 kmph gusting to 56 kmph are very likely to prevail along and off south Odisha on October 27 and along and off Andhra Pradesh coast from October 27 to 30.

The Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning Centre said sea conditions would be rough to very rough. It advised fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off Andhra Pradesh coast. Those already at sea have been asked to return.

The Met office has forecast light to moderate rainfall at many places over south Odisha and north coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Distant warning signals have been hoisted at Visakhapatnam, Machilipatnam, Krishnapatnam and Nizamapatnam ports.

Authorities in Vijayanagaram district in south coastal Andhra have been put on alert. District Collector Vivek Yadav asked officials to warn fishermen in 26 villages along the coast not to venture into the sea.

About a 1,000-km long coastline of Andhra Pradesh is vulnerable to cyclonic storms during the October-December period.

Storm HudHud in October 2014 had slammed the coast at Visakhapatnam, killing 49 people and affecting about 21 lakh families in the state. It also caused massive destruction to infrastructure in the port city. — IANS