Cyclone Sidr headed for Bangla border

A severe cyclonic storm, Sidr, is intensifying in the Bay of Bengal, about 800 kms south of Kolkata...

A severe cyclonic storm, Sidr, is intensifying in the Bay of Bengal, about 800 kms south of Kolkata, and is on course to strike the coast on India-Bangladesh border within 48 hours. The coastal areas of Orissa and West Bengal are on alert and the Metereology Department is watching its movement closely.

Sidr as it moves over east-central Bay of Bengal has been categorised as a 8220;very severe cyclonic storm8221; and not a 8220;super cyclone8221;. The updated warning by the Metereology Department this afternoon said that it was likely to intensify further and move in a northerly direction and cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coast near Sagar Island by the morning of November 16.

This means that its main impact may not be on the Indian coast and may move towards the low-lying Bangladesh coast.

Latest satellite imageries show solid intense to very intense convective clouds around the system centre with wind speed as high as 90-100 knots around the storm centre. The storm was moving north at 11 kilometers per hour on Wednesday.

8220;The scenario will become clearer by tomorrow morning. The exact place where it will make a landfall will be known. Plus, whether it will gain or lose strength will also become clearer,8221; said H R Hatwar, Deputy Director General of the Metereology Department.

On Wednesday morning, with the news of the storm moving Northwards, Orissa heaved a sigh of relief. West Bengal8217;s south and north 24 Parganas, east 038; west Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly and Kolkata districts are still on alert. Heavy rain or thundershower is expected over the coastal districts of Gangetic West Bengal by Thursday. According to the Metereology Department, squalls with wind speed of 50-60 km per hour is likely commence along and off the West Bengal coast.

Fishermen in West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar islands have been advised not to venture into the sea.

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According to the US Navy advisory, the cyclone was expected to weaken later on Wednesday and continue losing power while approaching Kolkata and the nearby west coast of Bangladesh.

Officially, evacuations in India start 24 hours before the cyclone is expected. The National Disaster Management Cell is already on an alert.

In Orissa, the Government has put on alert 14 districts, including six coastal districts, and asked the local people to remain prepared for any eventuality. Cyclone shelters, built after the 1999 super cyclone, were being readied to accommodate people in the event of the storm hitting the coast.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh, where damage is almost a certainity, is in constant touch with India. Almost 37 years ago, a category 3 equivalent storm made landfall on Bangladesh resulting in over 3,00,000 deaths. Called the Bhola cyclone, the flooding caused by the storm surge is widely regarded as one of the most deadly natural disasters of the modern era. In 1991, at least 1,38,000 people were killed by another cyclone which made landfall on Bangladesh.