Cyclone Bulbul : Heavy rains claim one life in Odisha

 Heavy rains and high-velocity winds trigerred by very severe cyclonic storm 'Bulbul' lashed coastal Odisha on Saturday claiming one life, uprooting trees and snapping ro links.

One person died in a wall collapse in Kendrapara district of coastal Odisha, where some areas were pounded by heavy to very heavy rains, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said.

Most places on coast experienced light to moderate rainfall, he said ding pdy and or crops in 35 to 40 per cent area over six lakh hectare agriculture land have been damd due to downpour triggered by cyclone.

cyclonic winds uprooted a large number of trees and electric poles, besides causing extensive dam to thatched structures and standing crops before veering away towards West Bengal, he said.

landfall of cyclone is expected between Sagar Islands of West Bengal and Khepupara in Banglesh on Saturday night and move rthwestwards into neighbouring country over Sundarbans delta, Met department said.

Jena said several areas in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur and Bhrak have been hit by cyclonic winds. It also damd power infrastructure in Balasore, Bhrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts.

National Disaster Response Force and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force personnel are working on a war footing to clear ros of uprooted trees and ensure smooth traffic in affected areas at earliest, he said.

Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy said state government has initiated steps for proper assessment of dam caused by cyclonic winds.

Director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre, H R Biswas said very severe cyclonic storm 'Bulbul' was centred over Bay of Bengal, about 175 km east-rast of Parip and 125 km east-souast of Balasore in Odisha at around 6 pm.

" cyclone is being tracked by Doppler Wear Rars at Gopalpur, Parip and Kolkata in dition to or observing platforms," he said.

Gale force winds reaching speeds of 70-80 km per hour with gusts up to 90 kmph were experienced in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhrak districts, while squally conditions prevailed in most coastal areas, Biswas said.

Jena said Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district recorded maximum rainfall of 180 mm, Chandbali in Bhrak registered 150 mm and Tirtol in Jagatsinghpur district 100 mm since Friday.

port town of Parip recorded a rainfall of around 160 mm, Chandbali 143 mm during this time span, he said ding Dhamra in Bhrak district experienced wind speeds of 110 kmph.

Around 4,000 people have so far been evacuated from vulnerable and low-lying areas on state's coastal region and sent to 47 cyclone shelters, officials said.

SRC said as many as 43 fishing vessels with 381 fishermen from West Bengal have been sheltered at Dhamra harbour and nearby Talchua.

Nine persons aboard a fishing boat were rescued and shifted to safety after ir vessel met with a mishap in sea near Dhamra, he ded.