[ad_1]
Army personnel conduct rescue-and-relief operations in the flood-affected area in Amra and Shapar villages of Jamnagar following heavy rainfall, on August 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Following the warning by the IMD, Kutch Collector Amit Arora issued a video message asking people living in Abdasa, Mandvi and Lakhpat talukas to leave their huts and kutcha houses and take shelter in any school or other buildings.
He also urged locals to come forward and provide shelter to such poor people in their houses till Friday evening (August 30, 2024.)
People sit in the Indian Coast Guard helicopter winch cradle during a rescue operation in the flood-affected Porbandar and Devbhoomi Dwarka districts where people were stranded over rooftops and other makeshift structures, on August 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
ANI
In a statement on Thursday night (August 29, 2024), IMD said, “Deep depression over Kutch and adjoining areas is likely to move nearly westwards into northeast Arabian sea and intensify into a cyclonic storm during next 12 hours. It would then move west-northwestwards away from Indian coast during subsequent two days.”
“After the IMD warning, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel reached the State Emergency Operations Centre in Gandhinagar on Thursday night and talked to Arora through video conference about the district administration’s preparedness,” an official release said.
If the deep depression turns into a cyclone, it will be named Asna, a name suggested by Pakistan. This is a rare occurrence that a deep depression over land has converted to a cyclonic storm over the sea. The formation of a cyclone in August in the Arabian Sea is also rare.
“During this period, the sea condition will be rough and wind speed may reach up to 75 kmph along and off the Gujarat coast,” the IMD has said.
Rare August cyclone likely to form over Arabian Sea: IMD
In a rare meteorological phenomenon in the month of August, a cyclone is brewing over Saurashtra-Kutch region of Gujarat which is expected to emerge over the Arabian Sea on Friday (August 30, 2024) and travel towards the Oman coast.
A national bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the deep depression over Saurashtra and Kutch is likely to move west-southwestwards and emerge over the northeast Arabian Sea off Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts and intensify into a cyclonic storm on Friday (August 30, 2024).
It will be called Cyclone Asna, a name suggested by Pakistan, when it intensifies into a cyclonic storm. Only three cyclonic storms have developed over the Arabian Sea in August from 1891 to 2023.
“This will be the first cyclonic storm to develop over the Arabian Sea in August since 1976,” the weather office said. “The cyclone in 1976 developed over Odisha, moved west-northwestwards, emerged into Arabian Sea, made a looping track and weakened over northwest Arabian Sea near Oman coast,” it said.
“Development of cyclonic storms in the month of August over the Arabian Sea is a rare activity,” an IMD meteorologist said. The 1944 cyclone also intensified after emerging into the Arabian Sea and weakened subsequently mid-sea.
In 1964, a short cyclone developed near the South Gujarat coast and weakened near the coast. Similarly, over the Bay of Bengal during the last 132 years, there have been a total of 28 such systems in the month of August.
“What is unusual about the current storm is that it has maintained the same intensity over the past few days,” a scientist with the IMD said. “The tropical storm is sandwiched between two anticyclones – the one over the Tibetan Plateau and another over the Arabian Peninsula,” he said.
The deep depression over Saurashtra and Kutch has pounded the region with heavy rainfall. As per the IMD data, the Saurashtra and Kutch regions have received 799 mm of rainfall between June 1 and August 29 this year as against the normal of 430.6 mm for the same period. This accounts to 86% more rainfall than normal for this duration.
Another low pressure area over central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal is likely to move west-northwestwards and become more marked over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal by Friday.
“It is likely to move towards north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha coasts and intensify into a depression over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal by Sunday,” the IMD said.
[ad_2]
Source link
