The Odisha government on Friday asked the authorities of four districts to take pre-emptive measures as a depression in the Bay of Bengal is likely to concentrate into a severe cyclonic storm Remal, officials said.
Cyclone Remal: All we know
Cyclone Remal is likely to make landfall along the adjoining coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh around May 26 midnight, bringing heavy rain to several Odisha districts.
This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season and will be named Remal, given by Oman, according to a system of naming cyclones in the north Indian Ocean region.
The low-pressure area formed over the central Bay of Bengal on Thursday has concentrated into a depression on Friday morning.
The system lay centred about 730 km south-southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh) and 750 km south of Canning (West Bengal). The system is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and make landfall between those two places, the IMD said in a bulletin.
Under its impact, there is a possibility of wind speed reaching 40 to 50 kmph accompanied by heavy to very heavy rain at most places of the four districts.
Govt's directions
Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Satyabrata Sahu has alerted the collectors of Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj and asked them to take preparatory measures in view of the impending calamity.
Therefore, the SRC has urged the collectors to remain on alert and take all preparatory measures to face any eventuality, officials said.
The district collectors have been asked to inform the revenue and disaster management department about the ground situation from time to time, they said.
