Cyclone Jawad to touch coast around Puri on Dec 5, red alert issued for AP, Odisha; 64 NDRF teams ready

A low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm 'Jawad', the India Meteorological Department said on Friday.

The cyclonic storm is likely to reach the west-central Bay of Bengal off the coast of north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha by Saturday morning, the IMD said.

It will then move north-northeastward along the coast of Odisha and adjoining Andhra Pradesh and touch the coast around Puri by December 5 noon, according to the weather department.

Very heavy rainfall is likely to start in north coastal Andhra Pradesh and south coastal Odisha by Friday evening. The intensity of rainfall is likely to increase on Saturday, it said.

The low-pressure area had developed over the Andaman Sea on Nov 30.

It intensified into a depression on December 2 and further into a deep depression on Friday morning. It turned in a cyclone on Friday noon, the IMD said.

A red colour warning has been issued for Andra Pradesh's Srikakulam, Vizianagram and Visakhapatnam districts for Saturday. The red colour warning has also been issued for the Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur districts of Odisha

The name of the cyclone -- 'Jawad' -- has been proposed by Saudi Arabia.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has earmarked 64 teams to tackle the impending cyclonic storm 'Jawad' that is expected to affect the states of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, a senior officer said on Friday.

NDRF Director General (DG) Atul Karwal told reporters during a briefing here that while 46 teams have been deployed or pre-positioned in the vulnerable states, 18 teams have been kept in reserve.

A single NDRF team has about 30 personnel who are equipped with pole cutters, electric saws to cut uprooted trees, inflatable boat and some other relief and rescue gadgets.

"We are confident of taking care of the situation," Karwal said, adding all preparations have been done by the federal contingency force to help the affected states and the citizens.

The NDRF head said the national crisis management committee (NCMC), a panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior officers have already reviewed the situation and these will continue till the cyclone hits coast on December 5 in Odisha.

The India Meteorological Department said on Friday that a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm 'Jawad',

The cyclonic storm is likely to reach the west-central Bay of Bengal off the coast of north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha by Saturday morning, the IMD said.