The India Meteorological Department on Saturday said that the “very cyclonic storm” Kyarr is likely to intensify into an “extremely severe” cyclonic storm over the next 24 hours.
In its 2.30 pm bulletin, the IMD said the storm moved westnorthwest-wards, and at 11.30 am, lay 350 km west-southwest of Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, and 410 km southwest of Mumbai. The weather department said it is likely that the storm will move towards the Oman coast over the next five days.
The weather department said the storm would reach speeds of 170 to 180 kilometres per hour over the next two days. It is likely to weaken to a very severe cyclonic storm on October 29, and a severe cyclonic storm by October 31.
The weather department said light to moderate rainfall is expected at many places with heavy falls at isolated places over Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Goa and Uttar Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka during next 12 hours. It said that South Gujarat may also expect some rainfall over the next 24 hours.
The IMD advised fishermen not to venture out to sea off the Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa coasts for the next 24 hours. It said that sea conditions will be rough to very rough along the Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka coasts over the next 12 hours. It also asked fishermen not to venture into the east-central Arabian Sea till October 29, and west-central Arabian Sea till October 31.
On Friday, the IMD had predicted heavy rainfall in coastal Karnataka and Goa on Saturday after Kyarr intensified overnight.
The Goa government issued a red alert late on Friday after the weather office warned the storm could turn into an “extremely severe cyclonic storm” by Monday, Hindustan Times reported. Earlier in the day, power lines snapped and trees were uprooted across the state, including capital city Panaji’s arterial Dayanand Bandodkar Marg. According to reports, the damage mostly occurred in Panaji and Mapusa, a town in North Goa.
The police were deployed to rescue people marooned in low-lying areas even as almost 4,000 people on riverine islands remained stranded from the rest of the state as ferry services were suspended. “Three routes of ferry services connecting Ribandar-Chorao and Old Goa to Divar have been suspended,” an unidentified River Navigation Department official told the newspaper. “Besides another route from Camurlim to Agarwada has also been suspended.”
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said disaster management teams were on standby, IANS reported. An unmanned chemical tanker – Nu Shi Nalini – reportedly carrying 3,000 tonnes of highly flammable liquid called naphtha continued to drift dangerously after its anchor snapped at Mormugao Port. “We have called the captain,” Sawant told reporters. “He should not leave Goa. We have summoned the owner of the ship too for inquiries.”
Four months ago, the Directorate General of Shipping had warned that Nu Shi Nalini’s anchor and its anchor cable might not be able to withstand storms during the monsoon, reported The Times of India. The assessment was mentioned by the directorate’s Mercantile Marine Department in an affidavit submitted to Kerala High Court.
Meanwhile, in Karnataka at least five people have been killed in storm-related incidents, The Hindu reported on Friday. The districts of Dharwad, Belagavi, and Uttara Kannada received moderate to heavy rain during the day.
On Saturday, the New Mangaluru Port Trust said it had rescued around 100 fishing boats and more than 1,000 people, and provided shelter in the harbour’s safe zone, ANI reported.
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