The severe cyclonic storm Phailin over east central Bay of Bengal on Friday further intensified and is all set to make a landfall close to Gopalpur in Odisha at a wind speed of at least 205 kmph on Saturday.
"The very severe cyclonic storm, PHAILIN over east central Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph and lay centred about 520km south-southeast of Paradip, 530 from Gopalpur and 530km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam," the IMD said in its latest bulletin.
IMD, which till last night expected that the wind speed would remain limited within 185 kmph during landfall on Saturday, said in its latest bulletin that Phailin would hit with increased intensity with a maximum sustained speed of 205-215 kmph.
Similarly, though IMD forecast a storm surge of 1.5 meter to 2 meter in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts in the coast yesterday, today it said the storm surge height will be around 2 meter to 2.5 meter above astronomical tide.
This would inundate low lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur in Odisha.
Squally winds speed reaching 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph have already started along Odisha coast this morning under the influence of Phailin. "It would increase in intensity with gale wind speed reaching 205-215 kmph along and off coastal districts of south Odisha at the time of landfall," the IMD said.
"We have ordered that nobody should be allowed to stay in thatched and weak houses," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P.K. Mohapatra said.
The personnel of of Odisha State Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire men have already been deployed.
The 1999 Odisha cyclone made landfall as a category 4 cyclone with windspeeds of 155mph. It killed approximately 15,000 people. Phailin is expected to be on the same scale if not larger.
The Andhra Pradesh government is gearing up to deal with the impact of the cyclonic storm Phailin, which is expected to cause damage in coastal districts of the state.
Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has reviewed the government's preparedness to face the impact of the cyclone and directed officials to take all precautionary measures.
Reports from coastal districts said it was raining and that the sea was rough. Heavy rains have begun under the influence of the system.
However, the impact of the cyclone is expected to be felt more in Odisha.
A round-the-clock control room has already been opened in the Secretariat here and district collectors have been told to take all necessary measures to deal with the situation.
The five-day strike by the electricity employees caused extensive disruption to power supply in the two regions.
The power supply situation was returning to normalcy after the electricity employees ended their strike.
The process of power generation at the Vijaywada thermal power station also began with the striking employees resuming their duties, officials said.
The pro-united Andhra teachers also withdrew their strike following talks with the chief minister on Thursday.
Other government employees had also announced that they would take part in rescue and relief measures for the cyclonic storm.
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