Govt gears up for possible calamity in cyclone months as monsoon may withdraw by Oct 10

Bhubaneswar: With conditions favourable for withdrawal of Southwest Monsoon from some parts of Odisha during next 2-3 days, the state government has started preparations for a possible calamity with October and November being considered the ‘cyclone months’.

Presiding over a high-level meeting here on Thursday, Chief Secretary P K Jena directed district collectors and department secretaries to remain alert for 45 days from October 10.

Director of the Bhubaneswar Regional Meteorological Centre, HR Biswas, informed the government that the southwest monsoon is likely to withdraw from Odisha by October 10. “Favourable weather conditions are created for cyclones in the Bay of Bengal within 45 days from the departure of monsoon in the state,” he said, adding that state needs to remain vigilant during this period.

Development commissioner, special relief commissioner, 12 department heads, DG (fire service), heads of NDRF and ODRAF also attended the meeting.

Odisha, which is known as India’s most disaster-ready state, has encountered over 10 cyclones in a span of 22 years. The government here has managed to minimise the casualties during cyclones by taking several measures well in advance, including Early Warning Dissemination System.

Notably, the state experienced heavy rain earlier this month under the influence of a well-marked low pressure over Bay of Bengal off its coast. “Yesterday’s low pressure area over western parts of Gangetic West Bengal and neighbourhood lay over central parts of Bangladesh and neighbourhood at 3 am on October 6,” the weather agency said in its afternoon bulletin.

The IMD further sad that the southwest monsoon is subdued in Odisha. While light to moderate rain may continue at some places in the state for 3 days, dry weather will prevail from October 9.