BHUBANESWAR: Six districts in Odisha are expected to be the most affected when Super Cyclone Amphan makes landfall by becoming a very severe cyclonic storm, said Umashankar Das, Deputy Director, IMD Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
"Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur and Jagatsinghpur districts to be the most affected. We are expecting that it will cross land by becoming a very severe cyclonic storm," Das said.
The IMD official said that Cyclone Amphan is likely to make landfall in between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) near Sundarbans. It is located about 520 km south of Paradip (Odisha).
"Odisha's north coastal region will get affected. Super cyclonic storm Amphan lays over the west-central Bay of Bengal and it is expected to get weakened in the next six hours. The storm is moving at speed of 14 kmph for the last six hours," he added.
Meanwhile, a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed in Jagatsinghpur urged the villagers to shift to cyclone shelters in the area.
In West Bengal, residents of Tajpur in East Medinipur created a temporary fence along the coast in the wake of approaching cyclone.
The IMD has issued a warning to suspend all fishing activity in West Bengal and Odisha till May 20.