For India’s south-eastern coast, the storm season is not letting up. Forecasters at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported on Sunday that a low-pressure system over the south-eastern part of the bay had strengthened into a depression, the first step toward what forecasters expect to become a severe cyclonic storm within two days.
If the outlook holds, the system will turn into a cyclone on Monday and receive the name Akvan, which was put forward by Iran. By Tuesday it is expected to intensify further over the west-central part of the bay before curving toward the coast of Andhra Pradesh around November 19. Where exactly it will cross the coast is still open.
At daybreak on Sunday the system was spinning over open water, some 600 kilometres from Sri Lanka’s east coast at Trincomalee and about 1,000 kilometres short of Visakhapatnam.
The timing is painful. Andhra Pradesh has already been hit by cyclones Arnab and Murasu within just a few weeks, and Akvan would be the third cyclone of the year in the Bay of Bengal. Forecasters expect the land impact to build slowly: little more than light showers early in the week, then a yellow alert from Wednesday for the entire coastline between Srikakulam in the north and Nellore in the south. The four northernmost districts, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli, are then due to be upgraded to orange on Thursday, when downpours could become intense in places. Odisha’s southern coast is also under a pre-cyclone watch, and rain is already falling in northern Tamil Nadu.
Fishing crews have been told to stay ashore from Monday, with offshore gusts forecast to reach 75 km/h. The IMD lists the usual risks of a heavy-rain spell, from snapped branches and battered huts to flooded hollows and interrupted traffic on roads and railways. It also repeated a simple safety message: “Do not take shelter under trees” when lightning strikes.
For residents along the coast, the coming days will be about watching the bulletins and preparing once more.
