RNS: Cyclone Jawad is likely to reach north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha today (Saturday) afternoon, said an official of the Meteorological Department.
Coastal districts of Odisha have been experiencing rainfall since the last night due to the impact of Jawad. The rainfall and wind intensity will increase as the cyclonic storm approaches the Odisha coast.
Met department has issued a red warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall and even extremely heavy rainfall at a few places today in districts like Ganjam, Gajapati, Puri and Jagatsinghpur.
Rescue and relief teams have been positioned at vulnerable locations across the coastal districts, which are likely to be impacted more by heavy rainfall and winds gusting up to 110 kilometers today and tomorrow. People have also been cautioned against storm surges between half to 1 m above the normal astronomical tides that may inundate low lying areas of the coastal districts, the official said.
As a precautionary measure, while the state government has ordered the closure of schools in 19 districts for today, it has also ordered the fishing ban in the entire Odisha coast and the Chilika Lake, which has already come into force till tomorrow.
