Cyclone Jawad updates: Cyclone Jawad that was threatening to strike the Odisha coast near Puri it diminished to depression on Sunday afternoon before moving towards the coastline, however, it failed to reach landfall, IMD said.
A storm erupted over the town’s port of Paradip within the state of Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district, on the morning of Monday nearly could have drowned the city when remnants of the cyclone Jawad which is now a significant depression over the Bay of Bengal, moved closer to the Odisha coast in the afternoon of Sunday officials from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) told the media.
Cyclone Jawad, which was expected to strike the Odisha coast near Puri and then was weakened to a depression by Sunday afternoon, moved towards the coastline; however, IMD said it failed to hit the coast.
Initial estimates suggested that it would bring winds that could reach 90-100 kph the actual speed of the wind was barely half that on Sunday afternoon, IMD stated.
It then moved to the north-east at the speed of 25 kmph and was cantered for 30 kilometers southeast of Paradip over the northwest Bay of Bengal by 5.30 pm, IMD said.
It added that moving in north-north-eastwards direction will weaken further by Sunday midnight along the West Bengal coast.
Although the system was weaker, it led to a short downpour in Paradip, which recorded 109 millimeters of rain between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm.
The cyclonic circulation that was sweeping over the Bay of Bengal led to extreme rainfall, triggered by massive differences in wind shear between the upper and lower levels of the atmospheric layer, IMD officials said.
“The clouds developed an irregular shape because of the system of atmospheric. In no region in Odisha has there been cloudburst over the past five decades,” said Uma Shankar Das, senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar.
The port town experienced an average of 201 millimeters of rain from 8.30 am on Sunday. This is the most in Odisha.
“The town suddenly turned darkness like night. Then, a torrential downpour …” was tweeted by a Paradip resident.
Cloudbursts are brief-duration, intense rainstorms that occur over a narrow region and, according to IMD it can produce more than 100mm of rain per hour within an area.
According to IMD reports, just 30 instances have been observed within India between 1970 to 2016. Cloudbursts are typically seen in desert and mountainous regions; however, they can also be followed on continental landmasses due to high vertical velocity and a constant flow of water out of nearby bodies of water.
Paradip Port Trust officials said that no damage was caused to the port’s infrastructure, and the cleaning of drains that were choked was underway.
According to an official from the port, the branches and trees have been removed from roads to facilitate traffic, noting that there was no evidence of any deaths in Paradip due to the cloudburst.
On Sunday, the storms that have ruined the paddy fields he was cultivating A 55-year-old tribal farmer from Ganjam district, Odisha, ended his life by eating pesticide.
The special relief commission Pradeep Jena said that in light of the agricultural sector’s massive losses, district collectors had been instructed to make a prompt report on crop damage in seven working days. “Government will take appropriate decision in regards to whatever benefit entitled,” Jena said.
The Coastal region was hit with torrential rains in the last 24 hours. As per the IMD and Paradip, the record for the highest rainfall of 158mm was measured within Khallikote located in Ganjam district in the past day (till 8.30 am on Sunday).
In the same way, 107.5 mm rainfall was recorded at Nayagarh and 86 millimeters in Chhatrapur.
Bhubaneswar Meteorological Center director HR Biswas stated that the rain activity would continue to occur in Odisha in the coming 24-hours as the depression moves along the Odisha coast.
“The conditions of stormy weather are expected to remain with gusty winds in the coast region. Thus, the fishermen’s warning and port advisory will be in effect until Monday. In addition, there is a chance that certain flights to and from Bhubaneswar could be restricted based on the effect on visibility resulting from heavy rains.” Biswas said.
For West Bengal, the state government has stopped ferry services along the Hooghly river and warned visitors not to go to the seaside resorts after heavy rains ravaged Kolkata and other parts of the southern part of the state Sunday.
“With the system likely to move north-northeastwards along the Odisha coast towards West Bengal and develop into a well-marked low-pressure area, light to moderate rainfall has begun in Kolkata, Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas, and East and West Medinipur districts,” an official said.
The heavy rains will be felt in some isolated regions of south Bengal, including coastal areas part of South 24 Parganas and East Medinipur districts. Also, parts in East Bardhaman, he said.
