Andhra Pradesh braces for severe cyclonic storm on November 17

The IMD has forecast a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal by November 17, with North Andhra likely to be affected. Authorities have warned of heavy rainfall and strong winds, urging residents and farmers to take precautions

Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh coast is likely to be hit by another severe cyclonic storm on November 17, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.

According to the IMD, the well-marked low-pressure area over the Southeast Bay of Bengal has intensified into a depression.

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It lay centred at 0530 hours of Sunday (November 15) over the Southeast and adjoining Southwest Bay of Bengal, about 700km west-southwest of Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair) (Andaman Island), 860 km east-southeast of Chennai (Tamil Nadu), 1040 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 1160 km south-southeast of Gopalpur (Odisha).

It is very likely to continue moving north-northwestwards, intensifying further into a cyclonic storm over the central parts of the south and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal on November 16 and into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal on November 17, the IMD said in a bulletin on Sunday morning.

Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority said that the severe cyclonic storm is likely to approach the coastal region of North Andhra.

Under its influence, North Andhra may experience heavy rains accompanied by strong winds on Thursday and Friday, said Prakhar Jain, Managing Director of the State Disaster Management Authority and Chief Executive Officer of Real-Time Governance Society (RTGS)

He advised the public and farmers to take necessary precautionary measures.

This will be the third cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast in 20 days.

Very severe cyclonic storm ‘Arnab’ had struck the Andhra Pradesh coast near Narsapuram on October 27.

Severe cyclonic storm ‘Murasu’ crossed the coast between Nellore and Narasapur on November 3.

Two cyclones within a week resulted in the death of 15 people and caused widespread damage to infrastructure and crops in the coastal districts.

Heavy rains and strong winds caused extensive damage to infrastructure, including electricity networks and roads.

According to preliminary estimates, Cyclone ‘Murasu’ caused a loss of around Rs 1,919.59 crore. The cyclone damaged crops across 1,43,122 hectares, affecting 1,86,063 farmers.

The losses caused by Cyclone ‘Arnab’ were estimated at Rs 4,600 crore.