Cyclone Gulab has made landfall in coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, the weather office tweeted this evening. The cyclone will cross the coasts between Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Gopalpur in Odisha in the next three hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The coastal districts in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have been put on red alert.
"The cloud bands have touched coastal regions and thus the landfall process has commenced over north coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south coastal Odisha. System will cross coasts between Kalingapatnam and Gopalpur, about 25 km to north of Kalingapatnam, during the next three hours," the IMD tweeted.
At least 42 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 24 squads of the National Disaster Response Force, along with over 100 teams of firefighters have been dispatched to these places. "The Chief Minister has asked people to remain indoors, particularly in pucca houses from Sunday evening till 10 am on Monday, during which the cyclone will pass through the region," Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena told reporters.
Cyclone 'Gulab', named by Pakistan, is the second to hit Odisha in four months after Cyclone Yaas wreaked havoc in May.
Here are the Live updates on Cyclone Gulab:
Cyclonic Storm Gulab is likely to make landfall in the coastal areas of south Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh. Here are a few helpline numbers for cyclone-related information.
Over the next three days, the sea condition will be rough to very rough and fishermen in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have been asked to not venture into east-central and adjoining northeast Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, reported news agency PTI.
As many as 42 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and 24 squads of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), along with about 102 teams of fire brigade personnel, have been dispatched to the seven districts - Gajapati, Ganjam, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Kandhamal, Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena said.
Cyclone 'Gulab' will be the second cyclonic storm to hit Odisha after 'Yaas', which made landfall barely four months ago. The intensity of cyclone 'Gulab' is likely to be similar to that of 'Titli' which swept through the state in 2018.
Odisha has initiated evacuation drives in seven identified districts in the southern parts of the state. The maximum focus is on Ganjam and Gajapati districts, which are likely to be severely affected by the cyclonic storm.
Some train services on the eastern coast have been cancelled while others have either been diverted or rescheduled as a precautionary measure
Thirteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in Odisha and five in Andhra Pradesh, Director General of the relief force Satya Narayan Pradhan was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.