KOLKATA, May 26: Cyclone ‘Remal’ intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and is likely to make landfall between Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts by midnight of Sunday with maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 kilometres per hour gusting to 135 kmph, the Met department said.
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The severe cyclone is set to bring extremely heavy rain in the coastal districts of West Bengal and heavy to very heavy rain in Kolkata and its adjoining areas.
Remal is very likely to move nearly northwards, intensify further and cross Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts between Sagar Island and Khepupara, close to southwest of Mongla port in the neighbouring country, by Sunday midnight as a severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 kmph gusting to 135 kmph, the weather office said.
The Eastern and South Eastern railways cancelled some trains with routes in the coastal South and North 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts as a precautionary measure, officials said.
Remal moved nearly northwards and intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on Sunday morning, the Met said, adding that it was situated in north Bay of Bengal, 240 km south-southeast of Sagar Islands in West Bengal, at 8.30 am.
”It currently has a maximum sustained wind speed of 90 to 100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph around the cyclone centre,” the Met office bulletin said.
The Met warned of extremely heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal and heavy to very heavy rainfall in north Odisha on May 26-27 owing to the weather system.
It said that extremely heavy precipitation is likely in Assam and Meghalaya and heavy to very heavy rain in the other northeastern states of Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura on May 27 and 28.
Storm surge of up to one metre above astronomical tide is expected to inundate low-lying areas of coastal West Bengal and Bangladesh at the time of landfall.
The weather office warned fishermen not to venture into the sea in north Bay of Bengal till May 27 morning.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall will occur at a few places in North and South 24 Parganas, Purba Medinipur, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly districts with extremely heavy precipitation in North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts, the Met said, issuing a red alert for these places.
It said that heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy rain at one or two places is very likely to take place in Nadia and Murshidabad districts on May 27-28.
The weather office warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Paschim Medinipur, Nadia and Purba Bardhaman districts and heavy rain over the other districts of south Bengal on May 26 and 27.
Surface wind with speed reaching 100 to 110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph, is likely over North and South 24 Parganas districts, which are likely to be the most impacted in West Bengal by Remal, the Met said.
It warned of 70 to 80 kmph wind speed gusting to 90 kmph in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly and Purba Medinipur districts, while Nadia and Purba Bardhaman districts are likely to experience wind speed of 60 to 70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph.
The remaining districts of south Bengal are likely to experience 40 to 50 kmph wind speed gusting to 60 kmph, it said.
As a precautionary measure, the Eastern Railway suspended train services in the Sealdah South section and Barasat-Hasnabad section of Sealdah division from 11 pm of Sunday to 6 am of Monday, cancelling several EMU local trains, according to an official.
The South Eastern Railway cancelled the Kandari Express on Sunday and some MEMU and EMU services to and from the seaside tourist town of Digha on Sunday and Monday, an official of the zonal railway said.
The authorities of Kolkata airport have decided to suspend flight operations for 21 hours from Sunday noon in view of the possible impact of cyclone Remal, an official said here.
A total of 394 flights, arrival and departure, in both international and domestic sectors would not operate to and fro the airport during the flight suspension period, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson said.
In north Odisha, the coastal districts of Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara will receive heavy rain on May 26-27, while heavy precipitation is likely in Mayurbhanj on May 27.
The north Bengal districts of Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri are very likely to receive extremely heavy rain on May 28-29, the Met said.
Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur districts are likely to receive heavy rain on May 28-29, it said.
The IMD warned of localised flooding and major damage to vulnerable structures, power and communication lines, kutcha roads, crops and orchards in South and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal.
People in the affected areas have been asked to remain indoors and vacate vulnerable structures.
The Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) Kolkata-headquartered North East Region authorities said they have taken all pre-emptive measures to ensure there is no loss of life or property at sea.
ICG’s remote operating stations at Haldia and Paradip were alerting fishing vessels and merchant ships through VHF (very high frequency) broadcasts, a press statement by the ICG said.
Nine disaster relief teams have also been kept on standby at Haldia, Fraserganj in West Bengal and Paradip and Gopalpur in Odisha to respond to any emergency, it said. (PTI)
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