Bangladesh's Meteorological Department on Sunday issued an alert over an intensifying storm in the Bay of Bengal, which is moving northwestwards towards its coastline.
"The well-marked Low over Southeast Bay and adjoining South Andaman Sea moved northwestwards, intensified into a Depression, that further intensified into a Cyclonic storm ASANI over Southeast Bay and adjoining area," a Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) bulletin read as reported by Xinhua.
The bulletin further said that the storm is likely to intensify further and move in a northwesterly direction.
Thundershowers with intense lightning flashes and temporary gusty wind are likely to occur in places in Bangladesh, the bulletin said as per Xinhua.
The effect of the building up cyclone is being already felt with squally weather over the North Bay, adjoining the coastal area of Bangladesh and the maritime ports.
The fishing boats and trawlers over in the Bay of Bengal have been advised to remain close to the coast and proceed with caution till further notice, the report said, adding that they are also advised not to venture into the deep sea.
Bangladeshi State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman had earlier told journalists after a meeting on cyclone preparedness in Dhaka that the cyclone may hit parts of Bangladeshi coastlines after hitting northeast India's Odisha and West Bengal states.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday also said that the cyclonic storm named 'Asani' is expected to further intensify in the next 24 hours.
"The deep depression has intensified into a cyclonic storm named 'Asani'. It's moving at 16 kmph in a northwest direction. It is at 970 km in the southeast direction from Vishakapatnam and 1,020 km in the southeast direction from Puri," Senior Scientist, Umashankar Das told ANI.
However, the scientist denied the possibility of landfall and said that it will recurve and move parallel to the Odisha coast.
Das predicted rainfall by the evening of May 10 and said that a yellow warning has been issued for three districts of Odisha.
( With inputs from ANI )
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