Amphan may turn into super cyclone, says Odisha Special Relief Commissioner
May 18, 2020
Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], May 18 : Cyclone Amphan may turn into a super cyclone between today evening and tomorrow morning, said Odisha Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena on Monday.
"Cyclone Amphan may turn into a super cyclone between today evening and tomorrow morning, which means that winds will blow at the speed of around 230 kmph in the sea. It will make landfall between Digha and Hatia island as very severe cyclone on May 20," said Jena here during a press conference.
"We expect widespread rains in coastal Odisha tomorrow. On May 20, there could be heavy to very heavy rainfall in northern districts of Odisha, with wind speed reaching up to 110 kmph in certain parts of Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur," he added
The administration is prepared to deal with the situation said Jena.
"We are fully prepared to deal with any situation arising out of cyclone Amphan. We have moved rapid response teams, fire teams, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to the districts which can be affected by Amphan," he said.
The Director of IMD Bhubaneswar, HR Biswas said that cyclone Amphan is very likely to intensify into a super cyclonic storm in the next six hours.
"We have issued heavy rainfall warnings for Gajapati, Puri, Ganjam Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts. Tomorrow rainfall activity to increase in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajapur, Mayurbhanj, Khurja, and Cuttack districts," Biswas said.
The IMD has issued heavy rainfall warning for Odisha, West Bengal, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Assam and Meghalaya till May 21.
