Bhubaneswar: The deep depression in north Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood intensified into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday and is likely to cross Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast on October 12.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the situation with concerned departments and said all preparation have been made on par with those made to deal with Cyclone Phailin last year.
"The cyclonic storm 'Hudhud' lay centered at 0830 hours over north Andaman Sea and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal near latitude 12.30 N and longitude 92.90 E, about 1,150 km southeast of Gopalpur," the latest bulletin issued by IMD here said.
It is now crossing Andaman and Nicobar Islands close to Long Island, the IMD said, adding the system would thereafter continue to move west-northwestwards and intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm in next 24 hours and subsequently into a very severe cyclonic storm.
"The system would cross north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Odisha coast between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur by noon on 12th October," the IMD said.
Under its impact, the region is likely to experience rain or thundershower at one or two places over Odisha during the next 24 hours, it said.
The met office advised hoisting of storm warning of distant cautionary signal number two (DC-II) by replacing the earlier distant warning signal number one (DW-I) at Paradip and Gopalpur Ports in Odisha.
It also advised fishermen in deep sea to return to the coast immediately.
Patnaik, who held a review meeting during the day, told reporters, "I reviewed the situation with concerned departments. All preparation have been made on par with the one made to tackle Cyclone Phailin last year ... Go for evacuation of people if required."
Departments have been asked to implement the contingency plan, he said.
A press release issued by the CMO said as per its information the system remains 1170 km from Gopalpur and will cross Visakhapatanam and Kalingapatanam in Andhra Pradesh on October 12.
Though Cyclone Hudhud is most likely to make landfall in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, southern parts of Odisha could experience heavy rainfall along with wind at the speed of 100 kmph to 140 kmph, the release said, adding the state government was ready to face the situation.
