The Mumbai centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday said that a deep depression in the Arabian Sea had intensified into cyclonic storm Kyarr. The cyclone which is passing along the coast of Karnataka is likely to hit the coasts of Maharashtra and Goa during the course of the day.
The cyclonic storm is likely to bring very heavy to extremely heavy rains in coastal Maharashtra, IMD officials said, prompting Palghar district collector Kailas Shinde to issue a warning to fishermen to not venture into the sea.
District fisheries department officials on Friday said 1,411 boats had sailed, of which 1,378 had returned, while efforts were on to bring the rest 33 boats safely to shore.
It said Kyarr was very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours and into a very severe one during the subsequent 24 hours, and move towards the coast of Oman.
Effects felt on Karnataka coast
The effects of cyclone Kyarr passing along the coast of Karnataka were felt in Dakshina Kannada district with the entire region experiencing heavy rains throughout Thursday night and intermittent rains on Friday.
Several trees were uprooted in gusty winds that lashed the area, damaging houses in many places.
The IMD and the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) have warned that the sea conditions are likely to be rough along the Karnataka coast during the next 24 hours.
A red alert has been sounded for Dakshina, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts with the prediction that the region is likely to receive very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall (above 200 mm) in the next 24 hours.
Dakshina Kannada district received 32.4 mm rainfall on Friday, with Mangaluru, Bantwal and Belthangady receiving excess rains compared to last year during the same period.
The level of Nethravati river is also rising and stood at 25 metres, below the danger-level of 29.5 metres, the sources said.
The IMD has also predicted huge waves between three metres to 3.3 metres for the next 24 to 36 hours along the coast from Mangaluru, Malpe and Karwar.
Fishermen were advised not to venture into the rough sea for the next two days.
(With inputs from PTI.)
