Cyclone Jawad, currently centred over west-central Bay of Bengal, is likely to weaken into a deep depression before it reaches the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coast around noon on December 5, officials said on Saturday.

“It is likely to weaken gradually and move northwards during the next 12 hours and then north-northwards along the Odisha coast, reaching close to Puri as a deep depression,” the India Meteorological Department said.

After that, it is expected to weaken further and continue to move north-northeastwards along the Odisha coast towards the West Bengal coast, IMD said in its latest bulletin.

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LANDFALL IN PURI DISTRICT?

“The system is likely to hit the Puri coast as a deep depression after getting weakened inside the sea during its journey to the shore,” weather scientist US Dash of the meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar was quoted by PTI.

Cyclone Jawad is likely to make landfall somewhere in Puri district before heading out to the Bay of Bengal, Special Relief Commissioner P K Jena had said on Friday.

RAINFALL, STRONG WINDS

The coastal region of Odisha has been experiencing rainfall since Friday night. Paradip recorded the maximum downpour at 68 mm followed by Bhubaneswar at 10.4 mm in the last 12 hours.

IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said the Jawad system is likely to hit the coast in Odisha near Puri with a sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph.

EVACUATIONS

Odisha Special Relief Commissioner P K Jena said the state government has asked district officials to evacuate people living in vulnerable houses and low-lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Niali area of Cuttack district from Saturday.

However, there will be no blanket evacuation as the expected wind speed is low in comparison to other cyclones, he said.

Jena said nearly 22,700 fishing boats have already returned from the sea and the Chilika lake. “We have also asked the district collectors to shelter fishing boats from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, which are unable to return to their destination within the stipulated time,” he said, adding that fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea till December 5.

As a proactive measure, a total of 49 self-contained teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed for the coastal regions of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andaman & Nicobar Island in collaboration with state authorities.