Cyclone storm 'Kyant' that originated off Myanmar's coast, could mar festivities in coastal cities and towns in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The cyclone is set to intensify on Thursday and might trigger heavy rainfall in these parts. The good news though, is that the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) forecasts pointed to a weakening of the cyclone into a deep depression by the time it makes landfall. Officials from IMD said that, on Wednesday evening, Kyant was moving at a normal speed of 15-20 kmph and was located 450km southeast of Gopalpur in Odisha, 520km east-southeast of Vishakhapatnam and 730km east-northeast of Machilipatnam.
Based on conditions prevailing on Wednesday, the storm is expected to make landfall by October 29 either in southern Andhra coast between Ongole and Nellore or northern Tamil Nadu coast. Meanwhile, Northeast monsoon current is expected to set in between October 30 and November 2. "At present, we can say that the storm is likely to weaken and there is a possibility that it will make landfall on the Andhra coast. The state governments of Andhra Pradesh has been alerted," said M.Mohapatra, Head, IMD Cyclone Centre.
As the cyclone progresses, the IMD has cautioned that squally winds with speeds between 45km/hour (kmph) and 65kmph will be gusting along and off south Odisha and Andhra Pradesh coast. In fact, as it approaches the shore, surface wind speed could reach a maximum speed of 100 kmph. Owing to the storm, sea conditions are going to be rough and hence fishermen in Odisha and Andhra have been warned to not venture into the choppy waters from Friday onwards.
Tropical cyclone storms are a regular feature in the North Indian Ocean between April and November and their frequency usually increases between October and November owing to favourable sea surface temperatures and winds. Earlier, in May, cyclone storm 'Roanu' passed along the Eastern coast of India and brought plenty of rainfall in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and the Gangetic Plains. Eventually, it made a landfall in Bangladesh, killing more than 20 and displacing lakhs.
Extremely severe cyclonic storm Phailin and very severe cyclonic storm Hudhud were two notable storms that made landfall in recent times in October 2013 and October 2014 respectively. Even as Phailin whipped up wind speeds of over 200kmph, effective evacuation by Odisha state authorities and central disaster management authorities restricted the casualties below 50. The 1999 super-cyclone that hit Odisha on October 25 is the most devastating cyclone storm on record in the North Indian Ocean. It had killed over 10,000 people and left over 10 lakh homeless.
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