Shillong, May 11: As many as six NDRF teams have been stationed in West Bengal due to Cyclone Mocha.
Out of these, three teams have been placed in East Midnapore’s Ramnagar 1 block, Ramnagar 2 block, and Haldia; the remaining three teams have been placed in South 24 Parganas’ Gosaba Kultali and Kakdwip; and the remaining two teams have been placed in North 24 Parganas’ Hingalganj and Sandeshkhali.
Additionally, the coast guard squad is on high alert, and a Coast Guard Disaster Relief team has been established and is currently working in the coastal areas of Bengal and Odisha.
The deep depression that formed in the Bay of Bengal, according to the Meteorological Department, will become Cyclone Mocha today and a very strong storm by the afternoon of May 12. According to reports, the cyclone will make landfall in the early hours of May 14 at Kukpyu in Myanmar and Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
Mocha will make touchdown at a maximum speed of 130 kmph. Bengal will be impacted, but it’s not yet clear how much. However, the Bengali government has already beguns making preparations in the coastal regions, and the administration has been instructed to start taking the essential steps right away.
A deep depression formed near Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a cyclonic circulation in the Bay of Bengal developed. The deep depression is expected to become a full-fledged cyclone by Wednesday evening, according to the IMD.
The Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata’s Director of Weather, GK Das, said in a statement that on May 11, the deep depression will progressively become a strong cyclonic storm.