Cyclone Asani is expected to make landfall in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on monday, the National Weather Service in India has reported.

“Depression over southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining south Andaman Sea lay centered at 0830 hrs IST of today, about 110 km north-northwest of Car Nicobar (Nicobar Islands). To intensify into a DD by 0530 hrs IST of 21st and into a cyclonic storm by 0530 hrs IST of 21st,” the New Delhi-based weather service (IMD) said in a Twitter post on Sunday.

“I urge people not to panic as the administration is taking all measures to ensure their safety. A total of 68 NDRF personnel have been deployed in Port Blair, and 25 each in Diglipur, Rangat and Hutbay areas,” said Pankaj Kumar, emergency management secretary.

Anjali Sehrawat, deputy chairman of the North and Middle Andaman County Council, said NDRF staff are evacuating those who live in coastal areas onto safe areas.

Ships departing from the islands and with Chennai and Visakhapatnam were suspended and fishermen were told not to venture into the sea as the year’s first cyclone approached, authorities said.



Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 38 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. (wikipedia)

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Cyclone Jawad

Cyclonic Storm Jawad in the South China Sea as an area of low pressure. It then moved west-northwestwards into the Gulf of Thailand, where it crossed into the Andaman Sea by December 1. (wikipedia)