On May 26, Cyclone Remal is predicted to make landfall in West Bengal, and areas like Kolkata, Howrah, Nadia, Jhargram, and others are under an orange alert for mild to moderate rainfall.
- Cyclonic storm Remal develops in Bay of Bengal, likely to hit Bengal coast on May 26
- Cyclone may coincide with polling in 8 Lok Sabha seats on Saturday
- Fishermen have been warned not to venture into sea till May 27
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated on Thursday that a strong cyclone is predicted to strike the shores of West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh on May 26 (Saturday), as a cyclonic storm that is currently forming in the Bay of Bengal. On Saturday, the state will hold its sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with voting for eight seats expected to take place around the time of Cyclonic Storm Remal.
Remal is predicted to strike Bangladesh’s and West Bengal’s coasts early on May 26 at a speed of 110–120 km/h, with gusts as high as 135 mph, according to the Met Department. It further stated that the severity would last for about twenty-four hours, until May 27 morning, at which point it will lessen.
The storm is likely to turn into a deep depression on May 25 (Friday) and as a severe cyclonic storm on May 26, the weather office said.
The IMD has issued an orange alert for light to moderate rainfall in Kolkata, Howrah, Nadia, Jhargram, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts.
“A well-marked low-pressure area over west-central and adjoining south Bay of Bengal moved northeastwards during the past 12 hours, concentrated into a depression and lay centred at 5:30 am on May 24 over central Bay of Bengal, about 800 km south-southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh) and 810 km south of Canning (West Bengal),” the IMD said in its bulletin.
“It is very likely to continue to move northeastwards and intensify further into a cyclonic storm over east-central Bay of Bengal by the morning of May 25. Subsequently, it would move nearly northwards, intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by the evening of May 25,” it added.
“Continuing to move nearly northward, it is very likely to cross Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts between Sagar Island and Khepupara around the midnight of May 26 as a severe cyclonic storm,” the IMD said.
The weather office has warned fishermen at sea to return to the coast and not venture into the Bay of Bengal until May 27.
ELECTION COMMISSION ON ALERT
The cyclone is expected to coincide with polling in eight Lok Sabha seats of West Bengal on Saturday — Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura and Bishnupur.
The Election Commission has alerted the district administrations to take all precautionary measures at polling stations in view of the brewing storm, an official said.
West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab reviewed the situation in a meeting with superintendents of police and state disaster management officials and directed them to take necessary steps to prevent any untoward situation.
“The SPs have been asked to take adequate measures,” Aftab told news agency PTI.
According to sources in the state disaster management department, all necessary measures are in place and additional personnel have been sent to coastal districts.
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