Cyclone Asani bringing heavy rains and thunderstorms, effects to continue till May 13
The effects of Cyclone Asani on Bengal have already started. Heavy rains, accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms, are battering the coastal districts as well as the metropolis of Kolkata. Several parts of the city were inundated on Monday morning.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is undertaking measures to clear blockades caused by fallen trees and other debris.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said heavy rainfall is likely to occur over Howrah, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Paraganas and Nadia districts of Gangetic Bengal from Tuesday, May 10 to Thursday, May 12.
The weather agency has also sounded an alert for heavy rainfall over the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Cyclone Asani, though, is unlikely to make landfall over the coasts of the two states.
The cyclone formed over the south-east Bay of Bengal and further intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on Sunday evening as it moved north-westwards in the direction of the northern Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast. It is likely to move in that direction till May 10, and then recurve north-north-eastwards and weaken into a cyclonic storm.
“Isolated heavy rainfall is very likely over Arunachal Pradesh & Assam-Meghalaya during 10th-13th May & over Nagaland-Manipur-Mizoram-Tripura-Assam during 9th-13th May. Isolated heavy rainfall is likely over Tamil Nadu & Kerala today,” the weather department said.
Asani is the is the first cyclonic storm of the season and was named by Sri Lanka. It means ‘wrath’ in Sinhalese.
The latest list of names for cyclones over the north Indian Ocean was released in 2020, with 169 names, including 13 each from the 13 countries of the north Indian Ocean rim. The cyclone that will form after Asani will be called Sitrang, the name having been given by Thailand. Tej, Murasu, Aag, Vyom and Jhar are the next five names from India.
