The Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration has made plans to evacuate residents from low-lying areas and the Army has also put its ships and relief teams on standby as the archipelago experienced heavy rain and strong winds due to Cyclone Asani.
IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that the cyclone will not make landfall in the Andaman Islands. “The weather system would move nearly northward along and off the Andaman Islands towards Myanmar and adjoining south Bangladesh coast,” Mohapatra said.
It is clearly evident from the forecast track as shown in our forecast track graphics, he said, adding that it is likely to have continued impact in terms of rainfall wind and waves as predicted and mentioned in the bulletin, he said.
As Andaman and Nicobar preps up to face Cyclone ‘Asani’, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in a tweet said that the depression adjoining the archipelago is expected to intensify into a deep depression in next 12 hours and into a cyclonic storm in 12 hours after that.
If and when the deep depression intensifies into a cyclonic storm, it will be called ‘Asani’, a name suggested by Sri Lanka.
In a late nigh tweet, the weather department informed that the depression is predicted to move “northwards along and off Andaman and Nicobar islands”.
“The depression over north Andaman Sea about 250 km NNE of Car Nicobar (Nicobar Islands), 80 km ESE of Port Blair(Andaman Islands). To move nearly northwards along & off Andaman & Nicobar Islands, intensify into a deep depression in next 12 hrs and into a cyclonic storm in next 12 hrs,” the tweet read.