The Cyclonic Storm ‘Gulab’ lay centered over the west-central Bay of Bengal, about 270 km east-southeast of Gopalpur in Odisha and 330 km east of Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh as of early Sunday morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Cyclonic storm Gulab, as named by Pakistan, is likely to move nearly westwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts between Kalingapatnam and Gopalpur around Sunday midnight of September 26, according to the IMD’s latest bulletin.

A tidal wave of about 0.5 meters in height above the astronomical tide is likely to inundate low-lying areas of Srikakulam, Sompeta, Vizianagaram, Ganjam districts in Andhra Pradesh during the time of landfall.

Post landfall on Monday, there would be heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places very likely over south Chhattisgarh; heavy to very heavy falls at isolated places over Odisha, Telangana, and Vidarbha; and heavy rainfall at isolated places over coastal West Bengal and north Chattisgarh.

Sea condition will be rough to very rough over east-central and adjoining the northeast Bay of Bengal on Sunday and ‘high’ over Northwest and adjoining the west-central Bay of Bengal and along and off Odisha, West Bengal, and North Andhra Pradesh till late Sunday night and Monday morning, the IMD added.

The fishermen in the affected areas have been advised not to venture into the rough waters. Thirteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in Odisha and five in Andhra Pradesh, Satya Narayan Pradhan, Director General of the relief force.

The Odisha government has initiated evacuation drives in seven identified districts in the southern parts of the state. The maximum focus is on Ganjam and Gajapati districts, which are likely to be severely affected by the cyclonic storm. At least 15 rescue teams have been deployed in Ganjam alone, an official said.

Cyclone ‘Gulab’ will be the second cyclonic storm to hit Odisha after ‘Yaas’, which made landfall barely four months ago. The intensity of cyclone ‘Gulab’ is likely to be similar to ‘Titli’, the storm that lashed the state in 2018.