Asani, the severe cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal, packing gale force winds up to 120 km per hour, was moving towards coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha at a speed of 25 km per hour on Monday, May 9, but is expected to weaken gradually over the next two days, IMD said. Under the influence of the cyclone, parts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh are expected to receive light to moderate rainfall from Tuesday evening, according to the weather office.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials in Amaravati, on May 10 and 11, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur over the old East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, and Srikakulam districts, with squally winds with a speed of 40-50 gusting 60 kmph over north coastal Andhra Pradesh, which comprises of West Godavari and the four districts mentioned above. On May 9, the IMD predicted light to moderate rains and thundershowers in some places in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, and one or two places in Rayalaseema.
The severe cyclonic storm Asani over west-central and adjoining south Bay of Bengal lay centred at 8.30 am on Monday, May 9, about 920 km northwest of Car Nicobar (Nicobar Islands), 770 km westnorthwest of Port Blair (Andaman Islands), 500 km southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 650 km south of Puri (Odisha), IMD said. It is very likely to move northwestwards till May 10 and reach west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts.
“Thereafter, it is very likely to recurve north northeastwards and move towards northwest Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast. It is likely to weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm during the next 48 hours,” IMD said on Monday afternoon.
The system will not make landfall either in Odisha or Andhra Pradesh, IMD Director-General Mrutunjay Mohapatra had said on Sunday, May 8. He had said the cyclone will move parallel to the east coast and cause rainfall from Tuesday evening. The weather office said very high sea conditions were likely to prevail over west-central and adjoining south Bay of Bengal and asked fishermen not to venture out in the region for the next couple of days.