The deep depression over Bay of Bengal intensified into a cyclonic storm on Friday and will graze past the Sundarbans after making a landfall on Bangladesh coast with a maximum wind speed of 80 kmph, said the India Meteorological Department, according to a PTI report.
According to the weather department, cyclone Midhili will cross the Bangladesh coast on November 17 night or early hours of November 18.
The deep depression over Bay of Bengal intensified into cyclonic storm as it moved in a north-northeastern ward direction, lying 200 km south-southeast of the seaside resort town of Digha in West Bengal and 220 km southeast of Khepupara in Bangladesh on Friday morning, according to the IMD.
- The Met department has issued a warning for the fishermen not to venture into the north of Bay of Bengal and off West Bengal coasts till November 18.
- The cyclone will have no major impact on Odisha as it passes above 150 kilometres from the state's coast, said the IMD.
- It however said that some of the districts like Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur likely to get heavy rainfall on Friday may receive heavy rainfall on Friday, IMD scientist Umashankar Das told PTI.
- In the wake of the cyclone in Bay of Bengal, Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) has put all the District Collectors on alert. "We do not want to take any chance and therefore put the state machinery on alert for any eventuality," SRC Satyabrata Sahoo said.
- It has been predicted that the cyclonic storm will bring heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal and in the northeastern states.
- Isolated heavy rain has been forecast in West Bengal's coastal districts of Purba Medinipur, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas on Friday, the weather office said.
- The cyclone has been given the name ‘Midhili’ by Maldives. Countries affected by the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal cyclones rotationally give names of cyclones in a sequence.