Cyclone 'Bulbul': Heavy rainfall lashes Odisha coast, Kolkata airport closed for 12 hours

Cyclone Bulbul has triggered heavy rainfall coupled with strong winds in the coastal districts of Odisha on Saturday and is progressing towards West Bengal. On account of the impending rainfall due to the cyclone, flight operations will remain suspended at Kolkata airport from 6:00 PM Saturday till 6:00 AM on Sunday.

The strong wind has uprooted hundreds of trees in various coastal districts of Odisha. The NDRF, ODRAF, police and fire personnel are engaged in clearing the roads in these areas.

The cyclone has affected districts which include Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, and Bhadrak. 1070 people have been evacuated to several shelters by the Kendrapara district administration and 1050 people have been evacuated from Balasore and Jagatsingpur districts.

Many areas in Odisha like Paradip, Chandbali, and Balasore received 159 mm, 143 mm, 32 mm of rainfall respectively.

Chief secretary Asit Tripathy reviewed the situation in Bhubaneshwar met centre director HR Biswas on Saturday morning.

The IMD has predicted that Gale wind speed reaching 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph is likely to continue along and off districts Balasore and Bhadrak districts till late Saturday evening.  Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur, districts are likely to experience squally wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph till at least midnight.

As for West Bengal, squally wind speed reaching 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph is prevailing along and off West Bengal coast. It will gradually increase becoming gale wind speed reaching 110-120 kmph gusting to 135 kmph from the Saturday afternoon for next 09 hours along & off West and East Medinipur, North & South 24 Parganas districts.

Squally wind speed reaching 50-60 Kmph gusting to 70 Kmph also likely over adjoining districts of West Medinipur, Howrah and Hooghly during the same period, IMD said. 

The Very Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Bulbul’ lay centred over northwest Bay of Bengal, about 140 km east-northeast of Paradip (Odisha), 85 km south of Sagar Islands (West Bengal), 120 km east of Chandbali, 120 km south-southeast Balasore, 90 km south-southeast of Digha, 185 km south-southwest of Kolkata and 270 km west-southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh). 

The Odisha Government on Tuesday put 15 of its districts on alert. The districts that were put on high alert are Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam, Puri, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Boudh, Nuapada and Malkangiri.

"We have put 15 of the state's 30 districts on alert in view of the possible heavy rain," PTI quoted Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) and Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management, PK Jena as saying.

The fishermen had been informed about the impending cyclonic storm along the Odisha-West Bengal coasts and have been advised to not venture into the sea. The agricultural department notified the farmers in the region about the situation so that they can take precautionary measures to protect their harvest.