Cyclone Bulbul LIVE Updates today: Severe cyclonic storm to weaken into deep depression in next 6 hours, says IMD

-

08:55 (IST)

IndiGo cancels flights, offers alternate arrangements to passengers

IndiGo airlines on Saturday said it has implemented proactive cancellations and made alternate arrangements for its passengers in order to deal with severe cyclonic storm Bulbul, which made landfall between West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts on Saturday evening. "The peak hour of the cyclone is expected from 10 PM Saturday until 4 AM Sunday. All the passengers of the affected domestic flights are being notified and alternate arrangements being offered,"the low-cost carrier said in a statement.

With around 48 percent share in the domestic air passenger market, IndiGo is the largest airline in India.

08:52 (IST)

Bulbul likely to weaken into deep depression in next 6 hrs

 

IMD said that severe cyclonic storm Bulbul weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centered at 0530 hours of today, over Bangladesh and adjoining coastal West Bengal. It is very likely to move East-Northeastwards across Bangladesh and likely to weaken into a deep depression during next six hours. 

08:51 (IST)

RECAP: Bulbul lay centered over northwest Bay of Bengal

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Bulbul lay centred at 2030 hrs on 9 November over northwest Bay of Bengal, 40 km east-southeast of Sagar Islands in West Bengal, 85 km east-SE of Digha, 125 km south-southwest of Kolkata, 100 km south-SW of Canning Town in Bengal and 210 km west-southwest of Khepupara in Bangladesh, says IMD.

08:45 (IST)

Mamata Banerjee takes stalk of situation

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited a control room at the state secretariat on Saturday to monitor the situation. Bulbul made landfall in Bengal late on Saturday night. 

08:43 (IST)

Cyclone Bulbul made landfall in Bengal late on Saturday

Cyclone Bulbul made landfall in West Bengal late on Saturday night, reports news agency ANI.

08:42 (IST)

At 2.30am Cyclone Bulbul lay centred over coastal Bengal

Severe Cyclonic Storm Bulbul lay centred at 2.30 am, over coastal West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh, about 12 km southwest of Sundarban National Park (South 24 Parganas District of West Bengal)

Cyclone Bulbul, Weather forecast Today LATEST Updates: After making landfall at a speed of 110 to 120 kmph between West Bengal’s Sagar Islands and Khepupara in Bangladesh on Sunday early in the morning, the severe cyclonic storm Bulbul is now likely to weaken gradually as it moves towards coastal Bangladesh and adjoining South and North 24 Parganas districts of Bengal, IMD has said.

Up to 1.8 million were expected to be evacuated by Saturday evening ahead of Cyclone Bulbul, Enamur Rahman, Bangladesh's junior disaster management minister, told The Associated Press. More than 5,000 shelters had been prepared by Saturday morning. The cyclone was packing winds of up to 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 130 kph (80 mph), but was forecast to weaken after crossing the coast.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee taking stalk of situation as Cyclone Bulbul makes landfall. ANI

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee taking stalk of situation as Cyclone Bulbul makes landfall. ANI

It slammed ashore near Sagar Island and its path included the southwestern Khulna region, which has the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, which straddles the Bangladesh-India border.

The weather office said coastal districts were likely to be inundated by storm surges of 1½-2 meters (5-7 feet) above normal tide because of the impact of the cyclone. Several ships from Bangladesh's navy and coast guard were kept ready in parts of the region for an emergency response, the TV station Independent reported.

The storm is also expected to impact parts of northeastern India, where precautions were also being taken. According to US-based AccuWeather Inc., Bulbul strengthened from a deep depression into a tropical cyclone on Thursday morning, and by Friday afternoon had strengthened into a severe cyclone.

Bulbul was the equivalent of a Category 1 or 2 hurricane in the Atlantic, it said. Rahman said the government suspended weekend leave for government officials in 13 coastal districts on Saturday.

On Saturday, volunteers used loudspeakers to ask people to move to shelters in Chittagong and other regions, according to the Disaster Management Ministry. In the Cox's Bazar coastal district, tourists were alerted to stay in their hotels, while a few hundred visitors were stuck on Saint Martins Island.

Authorities suspended all activities in the country's main seaports, including in Chittagong, which handles almost 80 per cent of Bangladesh's exports and imports. All vessels and fishing boats were told to stop operating.

Local authorities ordered school buildings and mosques to be used as shelters in addition to dedicated cyclone shelters -- raised concrete buildings that have been built over the past decades.

Bangladesh, a nation of 160 million people, has a history of violent cyclones. But disaster preparedness programs in recent decades have upgraded the country's capacity to deal with natural disasters, resulting in fewer casualties.



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2CuGrtj
FP Staff

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

120 flights delayed, 30 trains running late; Delhi fog & cold wave continue to give shiver to travellers

-
Arrival and departure of 120 flights, both domestic and international, to Delhi airport were affected due to dense fog and cold wave conditions on Wednesday, according to Delhi Airport FIDS (Flight Information Display System). As per the Delhi Airport FIDS, a total of 53 flights, including 21 domestic arrivals, 16 domestic departures, 13 international departures and three international arrivals scheduled are cancelled and not operating due to fog and other operational reasons from and to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the national capital on 17 January. #WATCH | Delhi: Several flight operations delayed at IGI airport due to low visibility amid fog. pic.twitter.com/hG1DUKllEt — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2024 Visuals from the Delhi airport showed passengers waiting outside, checking update of their scheduled flights. There were also some people waiting for flight of their families, friends and loved ones to arrive, which got delayed due to fog. #WATCH | Delhi | Pas
Read more