Odisha begins evacuation ahead of cyclone

The Odisha government Sunday began evacuating people from vulnerable areas and deployed 128 disaster response teams across eight districts, as the IMD predicted the formation of a cyclonic storm by Monday morning with the deep depression intensifying over the Bay of Bengal.

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TIDE ALERT: Amid impending cyclonic storm and potential high tides, Puri beach lifeguards warn tourists, Sunday to avoid entering the sea

(OP PHOTO)

The IMD, in its latest bulletin issued at 9pm, said that the deep depression over southeast Bay of Bengal formed earlier in the day moved west-northwestwards and lay about 790 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 900 km south-southeast of Gopalpur.

“The system is likely to move nearly west-northwest-wards and intensify further into a cyclonic storm over southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal during the next 12 hours,” the IMD said, adding that thereafter it is likely to move northwestwards, then north-northwest-wards and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by the

morning of October 28.