NEW CYCLONE 'AMPHAN' TO HIT EASTERN COASTS, LIKELY TO BRING STORM AND HEAVY RAIN; PM'S EMERGENCY MEETING SCHEDULED!

Indian officials are on high alert due to Cyclone Amphan, which is expected to make a landfall on the eastern coast of the country on Wednesday afternoon. Predictions say that it might intensify and become very severe. It is most likely to hit the states of West Bengal and Odisha. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be chairing a high- level meeting to discuss strategies and preparations for the storm. Almost twenty relief teams have been dispatched to those states. 

Indian meteorological department has issued a yellow alert for coastal areas. A yellow alert or Cyclone alert is given when a severe weather is set to commence in coastal areas. The statement instructed them not to “venture into the south Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours, and north Bay of Bengal from 18-20 May.”

The Cyclone is likely to turn into a very severe cyclonic storm on 20 May when it is expected to cross the north- west Bay of Bengal, cross West Bengal and Bangladesh. 

SN Pradhan, the head of India’s National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) told the media that they were monitoring the situation closely and are coordinating with state governments. 

Cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal typically falls between April to December.