Cyclone Mocha intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm on Friday morning around 5:30 am. Rainfall is likely to increase in Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur until Sunday, May 14, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Furthermore, the IMD announced that shipping activity in the southeast Bay of Bengal will be regulated until Sunday. Civil Defence personnel are working round the clock and the leave of irrigation and power department employees has been cancelled for the next one week, officials said.

As of Friday morning, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed eight teams and 200 rescuers in West Bengal's Digha. An additional 100 rescuers are on standby, per a News18 report.

According to the latest updates, the storm, around 5:30 am, lay centred over the central-southeast Bay of Bengal, about 520 km west-northwest of Port Blair.

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This is about 1,010 km south-southwest of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh and 930 km south-southwest of Sittwe in Myanmar, where the cyclone is expected to make landfall.

When and where will Cyclone Mocha make landfall?

As the cyclone progresses, authorities are closely monitoring its trajectory. It is projected to make landfall between Cox's Bazar and Sittwe around noon on May 14.

The potential impact of the cyclone's landfall raises concerns about the safety and well-being of the coastal regions in its path.

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The IMD has advised fishermen and people to refrain from venturing into the sea during cyclonic weather conditions.

Here is the forecast the IMD released on Thursday for Friday, May 12:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places. There are also chances of a thunderstorm with squally winds.

Kerala, Odisha, Karnataka: These states will witness light to moderate rainfall with the likely chances of a thunderstorm.

Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, west Rajasthan: Heatwave conditions are likely to prevail at isolated places.

The IMD has also issued a warning to fishermen for the upcoming days. From 5:30 am on May 12 to 5:30 am on May 13, the weather department has warned of likely gale winds with speeds reaching:

# 110-120 km/h gusting to 135 km/h over the east-central Bay of Bengal

# 100-110 km/h gusting to 120 km/h over the southeast Bay of Bengal

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# 110-120 km/h gusting to 130 km/h over the west-central Bay of Bengal in the morning and120-130 km/h gusting to 145 km/h in the evening

Squally winds are also likely with wind speeds reaching 50-60 km/h gusting to 70 km/h over the north Andaman Sea and northeast Bay of Bengal.

First Published:May 12, 2023 9:22 AM IST