Cyclone Jawad has weakened into a depression, near the coast, according the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Rainfall is likely continue till Sunday evening, 5 December, and gradually shift to the northern region of the state as the remnants of the cyclone move towards West Bengal.
It is likely to continue to move north and north-eastwards along Odisha coast towards West Bengal coast and weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area around midnight, according to the IMD.
On Monday, light to moderate rainfall is expected in Howrah, Kolkata, Hooghly, Murshidabad, Nadia and North and South Parganas district of West Bengal. Red warning asking fishermen to not venture along and off West Bengal will continue for tomorrow.
"The Deep Depression remnant of cyclonic storm Jawad lays about 230 km. The system moved north-northeastwards at 20 kmph in the last six hours and is over west-central Bay of Bengal, 90 km from Gopalpur, 120 km from Puri and 210 km from Paradip, according to the weather office bulletin at 11.30 am bulletin.
Meanwhile, Puri witnessed moderate rainfall early on Sunday morning, with the meteorological centre in Bhubaneswar saying that moderate thundershowers with one or two intense or heavy spells of rain were likely to affect some parts of the districts of Ganjam, Puri, Khorda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, and Cuttack during the next three hours.
On Saturday, the Andhra Pradesh government had evacuated 54,008 people from three districts – Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam – as Cyclone Jawad was likely to hit the state that day, news agency ANI reported.
In Odisha, the School and Mass Education Department had said that all the government and private schools in 19 districts, including Puri, Ganjam, and Cuttack, affiliated to the department, would remain closed on Saturday.
"However, if there is any exam schedule planned earlier, it may be conducted with utmost care under the supervision of district administration," it had said.
Late on Saturday evening , the IMD tweeted that "The Cyclonic Storm Jawad weakened into a Deep Depression at 1730 hrs IST as of today, it is about 180 km east-southeast of Vishakhapatnam, 260 km south of Gopalpur, 330 km south-southwest of Puri and 420 km south-southwest of Paradip."
The department had further said that the cyclone was likely to weaken gradually and move nearly northwards during the next 12 hours. It was likely to then move "north-northeastwards along Odisha coast reaching near Puri around 5 December noon as a Deep Depression. It's likely to weaken further and move north-northeastwards towards West Bengal coast."
"Rainfall activity will increase today (4 December) in districts like Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and adjoining areas of Visakhapatnam. West Bengal might also experience rain today and tomorrow. Andhra Pradesh will be clear and north Odisha might witness rain on 5 December."Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, IMD's Director General of Meteorology to ANI
AP Govt Sets Up Relief Camps, NDRF Teams in Place
As many as 15,755 people had been evacuated from Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district, 36,553 from Visakhapatnam and 1,700 from Vizianagaram by rescue team.
Further, 197 relief camps had been set up in schools and community halls in the state. Several teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) and Coast Guard had been deployed.
Earlier, NDRF Director General Atul Karwal had told ANI, a total of 46 NDRF teams have been sent to Odisha, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh to tackle the storm.
Shelter Homes Set Up in Odisha's Puri
People present at Odisha's Puri beach were asked to vacate the area, said SP Kanwar Vishal Singh, requesting everybody to follow government guidelines on Cyclone Jawad.
He further added that shelter homes have been set up in Puri. District Magistrate Samarth Verma clarified that the evacuation process of people living in vulnerable areas was underway and that those living in cyclone shelters were being provided with hot meals.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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