West Bengal Evacuate Thousands In Coastal Areas Ahead Of Cyclone Jawad

Cyclone Jawad may weaken into a deep depression by the time it reaches the Puri coast.

The West Bengal government on Saturday evacuated thousands of people in South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts and urged tourists in popular sea resorts to stay away from beaches, as Cyclone Jawad loomed large over the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coast.

Several places in the metropolis, North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Howrah and Hooghly districts received light rainfall since morning, the weather office said.

Jawad moved slightly northwards with a speed of 4 kmph during the past six hours and lay centered about 230 km south-southeast of Vishakhapatanam (Andhra Pradesh), 340 km south of Gopalpur (Odisha), 410 km south-southwest of Puri (Odisha) and 490 km south-southwest of Paradip (Odisha) at 5.30 am," the IMD said in a bulletin.

The administration in South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts evacuated around 11,000 people from the coastal areas to safer locations, while boats with fishermen returned in Kakdwip, Digha, Shankarpur and other coastal belts, an official said.