Odisha Braces For Another Possible Cyclonic Storm, Alert Issued To 18 Districts | Top Developments

In the advisory, the state government asked the district collectors to identify all vulnerable people and shift them to safe shelters.

Bhubaneswar: As Odisha is bracing for another possible cyclonic storm, the state government on Thursday instructed the district officials to be well prepared. Odisha, which has faced the wrath of cyclones consecutively for the past few years, is likely to witness a cyclonic storm in a few days. In this regard, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has advised people to keep a watch on the weather conditions and accordingly move to a safer place if needed.

In the meantime, Odisha Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra said the state is well prepared for the eventuality if any. He said the district collectors have been informed about the possible calamity.

Earlier in the day, the Bhubaneshwar unit of the IMD said thunderstorm with lightning and gusty surface wind speed reaching 30-40 kmph is likely to occur over some parts of districts such as Bhadrak, Jajpur, Cuttack, Nayagarh, Khorda (including Bhubaneswar), Ganjam, Gajapati, Nawarangpur, Kalahandi, and Deogarh during the next three hours.

THUNDERSTORM WITH LIGHTENING AND GUSTY SURFACE WIND SPEED REACHING 30- #40KMPH LIKELY OCCUR OVER SOME PARTS OF DISTRICTS OF BHADRAK, JAJPUR, KANDHAMAL, CUTTACK , NAYAGARH, KHORDA (INCLUDING BHUBANESWAR), GANJAM, GAJAPATI, NAWARANGPUR, KALAHANDI, DEOGARH DURING NEXT 3HRS pic.twitter.com/nGM98Ww5qX

— Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar (@mcbbsr) May 5, 2022

The state government has issued an alert to all the District Collectors of Coastal District with Additional Chief Secretary to Government (Disaster Management), Pradeep Kumar Jena asking them to stay prepared for a possible cyclone over the Bay of Bengal.

Jena had issued several instructions to the collector of 18 districts such as Ganjam, Gajapati, Puri, Khordha, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, and Kandhamal.

In the issued advisory, Jena stated “Keeping in view a possible cyclone over the Bay of Bengal (as per the latest IMD guidelines), all preparedness measures are required to be undertaken well in advance to reduce the impacts of the cyclone.”

He has also urged the collectors to take up several measures, on priority and mentioned. “District Emergency Operation Centre and Control Rooms of other offices must operate round the clock with adequate manpower, all communication equipment like phone, fax, etc should be in working condition. You may check the provided satellite phones and make test calls,” he said in the advisory.

In the advisory, he asked the collectors to identify all vulnerable people and shift them to safe shelters. He also suggested them to prepare a detailed evacuation plan for people living in kutcha houses or living near the coast or in low lying areas and other vulnerable persons including old, PwDs, women and children to designated geo-tagged shelter buildings.