Bhubaneswar: At a time when Odisha is fighting COVID-19 and going through a lockdown, reports of a cyclone forming in the Bay of Bengal has left people of the state panic-stricken.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), a low pressure formed over Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the South East of Bay of Bengal will intensify into a depression and then into a cyclone around April 27 or 28.
That said, risk of this cyclone making landfall in Odisha is not certain.
Pune based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and US-based Global Forecast System (GFS) have predicted the cyclone to make landfall in Mayanmar around May 4-5.
IMD, meanwhile, predicted rain for the next five days. Light to moderate rain or thundershower is very likely to occur at most places over the districts of Odisha, it said.
“Thunderstorm with lightning and squall wind speed reaching 50-60 kmph is very likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Coastal Odisha, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Rayagada, Koraput and Sundargarh. Thunderstorm with lightning and hailstorm is very likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Sundargarh, Deogarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi and Koraput,” it said.
The centre further added that heavy rainfall is very likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Sundargarh, Deogarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Puri, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghput till 8:30am of April 26. Besides, thunderstorm with lightning and gusty surface wind speed reaching 30-40 kmph are very likely to occur at one or two places over the rest districts of Odisha, it added.
PNN