Five districts to face cyclone wrath
VISAKHAPATNAM: Bringing the worst fears to life, cyclonic storm Hudhud intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and is well on its way to make landfall near Visakhapatnam on Sunday. The severe cyclonic storm lay over the Bay of Bengal at about 460 km southeast of Visakhapatnam and 520 km south-south east of Gopalpur in Odisha at Friday night.
Cyclone Hudhud is expected to intensify further in the next few hours and bring heavy rain up to 20 cm in some places and gusting winds of about 100-110 kmph as it inches closer to the coast.
It is likely to weaken by Sunday night into a cyclonic storm. 'Cyclone Hudhud, which is inching towards Visakhapatnam region, is unlikely to deviate from its path under current circumstances. However, we can assess the exact situation only on Saturday evening,' said senior scientists of Indian Meteorological Department at the Cyclone Warning Centre in Visakhapatnam.
Under its influence, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and the twin Godavari districts are likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall from Saturday evening. Nearly 40 mandals in these districts are likely to be affected severely. The rain would be accompanied by squally wind with speed reaching 50-60 kmph.
Wind speeds are likely to touch 130-140 kmph, gusting to 155 kmph from Sunday morning along and off the north Andhra coast, when the cyclone crosses the coast. Rainfall is likely occur at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in the remaining districts of Andhra Pradesh. Since Friday morning, the sea has been rough along the coast with the waves surging forward more than 25 feet in several areas.
The Met officials predicted that the sea condition would be rough from Saturday morning and it would gradually become phenomenal from Oct 12 along and off the north Andhra coast. Storm surge of about 1 to 2 m above astronomical tide is expected to inundate low-lying areas of Vizag, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and East Godavari districts at the time of landfall.
News Posted: 11 October, 2014
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