Fishermen have been advised not to venture into sea due to impact of Cyclone Midhili (Representational)
The deep depression over the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm and it is heading towards the Bangladesh coast. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the cyclonic storm, named Midhili, is expected to make landfall in Bangladesh on November 17 night.
As per the latest update from IMD, at 3 PM on Friday, the cyclonic storm is moving northeastwards and is expected to cross the Bangladesh coast close to Khepupara.
“CS Midhili over Northwest and adjoining Northeast BoB lay about 210km E SE of Digha and 110km SW of Khepupara. Likely to move N NE and cross Bangladesh coast close to Khepupara with wind speed of 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph during evening and night of 17th Nov, 2023,” tweeted IMD.
The name of the cyclonic storm Midhili was given by the Maldives.
Odisha, Bengal on alert
India is likely to escape the direct wrath of the storm.
“Tropical Cyclone Midhili has formed over the Bay of Bengal and it will slowly move north to make landfall near Khepupara. We have issued a red alert for extremely heavy rainfall today in Tripura and Mizoram. There is also a probability of heavy rainfall in Manipur, Nagaland, south Assam and Meghalaya, "IMD scientist Soma Sen told news agency PTI.
However, a few coastal districts of Odisha and West Bengal are expected to receive moderate to heavy rain due to the impact of Cyclone Midhili.
According to IMD scientist Umashankar Das, the cyclone won't have a major impact on Odisha, but coastal districts like Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur are likely to get heavy rainfall.
Isolated heavy rain is also expected in West Bengal's coastal districts of Purba Medinipur, South 24 Parganas, and North 24 Parganas on Friday.
Mizoram and Tripura can also face heavy rains of more than 204.4 mm on Friday.
Warning for fishermen
As per the IMD's forecast bulletin released on Friday, a red warning has been issued to all fishermen and they have been advised not to venture into the Bay of Bengal till the morning of November 18.
The sea condition around the North Bay of Bengal will be “very rough to rough” till Saturday, the weather agency warned.
The wind speed around the West Bengal coast is expected to be between 50 kmph to 70 kmph, which will continue till Friday midnight and decrease thereafter.
This is the second cyclonic storm to develop in the Bay of Bengal in less than a month. On October 21, cyclone ‘Hamoon' formed over the region and made landfall in Bangladesh. It was reported that five people were killed as the cyclone lashed Chattogram City on October 25.