Heavy rain warning issued for Bengal, Odisha till Oct 20

New Delhi, Oct 18: West Bengal and Odisha are likely to get heavy rainfall till 20 October due to a low-pressure area formed over north Telangana and strong southeasterly wind from the Bay of Bengal. It advised fishermen of the two states not to venture into the sea till Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday said.

The IMD warned of a rise in water level in rivers, waterlogging in low-lying areas and landslides in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal due to the downpour. It also advised fishermen of the two states not to venture into the sea till Tuesday.

Under the influence of the low-pressure area, squally weather with surface wind speed reaching 40-50 kilometres per hour gusting to 60 kmph is very likely to prevail over the deep sea areas of North Bay of Bengal till October 19, the IMD said.

While southern districts in Bengal like Howrah, Hooghly, and East Medinipur have recently experienced floods owing to downpours and overflowing rivers, some North Bengal districts are predicted to experience enhanced rainfall from Monday.

Meanwhile, Odisha government has asked the district authorities to keep a close watch on the situation. Standing crops in fields, with paddy being almost ready for harvest in several districts of West Bengal, could get damaged, said Sanjib Bandopadhyay, Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.

The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall and thunderstorm in districts such as Sundergarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, and Jajpur on Monday. The state government has directed all district collectors to monitor the situation. PTI