VIJAYAWADA: Rains lashed all along the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh with the impact of Cyclone Asani. Several flights originating from Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam were cancelled in view of the windy conditions. Cyclone Asani is likely to weaken gradually into a depression by Thursday morning, the IMD said.
According to the latest bulletin issued by the IMD, Cyclone Asani is very likely to move nearly northwards for next few hours and then north-northeastwards along Narsapur, Yanam, Kakinada, Tuni and Visakhapatnam coasts during Wednesday noon to evening and emerge into west-central Bay of Bengal off North Andhra Pradesh coasts by night.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has earmarked a total of 50 teams for undertaking rescue and relief operations in areas affected by Asani, the federal agency said. Of the 50 teams, 22 have been deployed on the ground in West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh while the remaining 28 have been asked to be on alert within these states, an NDRF spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the weather office in Kolkata said the system is likely to cause light to moderate rain in the districts of Gangetic West Bengal.
"Heavy rainfall is likely at one or two places over Purba and Paschim Medinipur, North and South 24 Parganas and Nadia districts of Gangetic West Bengal till Thursday morning," it said. Kolkata recorded 44.8 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours till 8.30 am, the Met Department said.
Rainfall is reported from the Srikakulam to Nellore coast of Andhra Pradesh since night. However, there was no report of loss of human life or damage to property. Fishermen were asked not to venture into the sea.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy would be convening a teleconference with the Collectors of coastal districts today afternoon to take stock of the situation.