Cyclone Asani: East coast braces for landfall; Odisha districts on alert

New Delhi, May 07: A low-pressure area over the South Andaman Sea is set to turn into a cyclone by Sunday evening and reach near the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha shores, causing heavy rains in the east coast states. When it does turn into a cyclone, it will be named Asani which in Sinhalese means wrath.

Sri Lanka has given the name Asani.

The cyclonic storm triggered by the low-pressure area over the South Andaman Sea and adjoining the southeast Bay of Bengal is expected to reach the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coasts on May 10, causing heavy rains in the east coast states.

Meanwhile, he Odisha government said disaster response and fire services teams were kept on standby following the forecast. The region witnessed cyclones in the last three summers -- Yaas in 2021, Amphan in 2020 and Fani in 2019.

An alert has been issued in 18 districts of Odisha, , including Malkangiri, Koraput, Ganjam, Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Gajapati, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Nayagarh, Puri, Khordha, Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Rayagada and Kandhamal in the wake of a cyclonic storm forming over the Bay of Bengal.

The weather agency issued a heavy rainfall warning for four districts of Odisha on May 10. These include the districts of Puri, Ganjam, Khordha and Jagatsinghpur on May 10.