Cyclone Kyarr has intensified to become the first super cyclonic storm in Arabian Sea since Cyclone Gonu devastated Oman’s coast in 2007, Mint reported.

According to the India Meteorological Department, the cyclone’s centre was about 630 km west-southwest of Mumbai at 2.30 pm on Sunday. “It is very likely to move west-northwestwards towards Oman coast during next five days,” the weather department added in its forecast. “It is very likely to maintain the intensity of a super cyclonic storm till October 28 morning and weaken gradually thereafter.” According to the department, the cyclone may weaken to the status of a very severe cyclonic storm on October 29, and a severe cyclonic storm two days later.

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Watch: How Cyclone Kyarr is disrupting life in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa

The rapid intensification of cyclones, as seen with Kyarr, has been observed in recent years. It is making it difficult for scientists to predict the intensity of storms and their likely path, according to Mint.

The Indian Coast Guard has deployed its ships Samudra Prahari, Amal, Apoorva, Amartya and Rajdoot on the Karnataka-Goa coast, PTI reported. Dornier aircraft were also put into action to coordinate with the ships while rescuing fishermen. The aircraft are reportedly making several sorties to look for stranded boats. A senior Coast Guard told the news agency that 19 fishermen have been rescued till now.

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The Goa government had issued a red alert late late on Friday after a warning by the weather department. The approaching storm also uprooted power lines snapped and trees, and left people on riverine islands stranded. The damage in the state mostly occurred in Panaji and Mapusa, a town in North Goa. Areas in coastal Karnataka have also received a lot of rain in the past few days.

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