Cyclone Hudhud makes landfall over AP coast: IMD

An India Met Department bulletin said cyclone Hudhud made a landfall in Andhra Pradesh coast.

Cyclone wind speed is of 170-180 kmph, gusting up to 195 kmph in Andhra Pradesh coast. The wind speed will come down by 50 per cent in 6 hours, according to IMD Chief Laxman Singh Rathore.

The IMD chief said PMO is monitoring situation arising out of the cyclone on an hourly basis.

The IMD chief said the centre of cyclone crossing the Andhra Pradesh coast. Time, place and speed of Hudhud cycle as per forecast, he added.

According to earlier reports, the storm would pack peak winds at 170- to 180 km/hr in speed at landfall, with gusts of up to 195 km/hr, the Met said, indicating no further revision of wind speeds.

Yesterday, it had revised wind speed estimates twice to significantly raise the strength of the storm and its damage potential over land.

Meanwhile, the US Naval observatory said in its 8.30 am update that HudHud lay 111 km away to southeast of Visakhapatnam.

LATERAL SPEED

It has regained its speed of lateral movement at 13 km/hr (from nearly the half during midnight).

But the US Observatory retained its assessment of peak wind speeds having racheted up to 203 km/hr with gusts of up to 250 km/hr.

Hud Hud continues to retain the ‘eye’ feature at its centre, indicating that it has not weakened, and would likely maintain current strength at landfall.

The ‘eye’ is an area of relative calm at the centre of a raging storm even as the eye wall, or its periphery, is ringed with the most violent of thundercloud activity.

Collapse of the eye wall weakens the storm, an eventuality that tracking models do not indicate happening anytime ahead of Hud Hud’s landfall.

PEAK STRENGTH

This would mean that HudHud would hit coast at peak strength, which the US Naval Observatory estimates to be at 212 km/hr.

But India Met Department is estimating much lower wind speeds, and its latest recorded speeds (at midnight last night) are 160- to 170 km/hr gusting to 185 km/hr.

The peak wind speeds it has estimated continue to be 170- to 180 km/hr with gusts of 195 km/hr, which had undergone revision twice during yesterday.

HEAVY RAIN WARNING

Heavy to very heavy rain with extreme heavy falls are forecast for the districts of West and East Godavari; Visakhapatnam; Vijayanagaram; and Srikakulam of north Andhra Pradesh during the next two days.

A similar forecast is valid for Ganjam; Gajapati; Koraput; Rayagada; Nabarangpur; Malkangiri; Kalahandi; and Phulbani districts of south Odisha.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall are forecast for Krishna; Guntur; and Prakasham districts of Andhra Pradesh and north coastal Odisha.

HIGH WINDS

Wind speeds reaching 60-to 70 km/hr gusting to 80 km/hr would prevail along and off north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts until early this morning.

They would gradually increase to 170- to 180 km/hr gusting to 195 km/hr around the time of landfall along and off north Andhra Pradesh (East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts) and 80- to 90 km/hr along and off

West Godavari and Krishna districts) and south Odisha (Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput and Malkangiri districts).

STATE OF SEA

Sea condition would be ‘rough to very rough’ (wave heights of 8 ft to 20 ft) until this morning.

It would gradually become ‘phenomenal’ (wave height of up to 46 ft) from later along and off north Andhra Pradesh coast and ‘very rough to high’ (20 ft to 30 ft) along and off south Odisha and south Andhra Pradesh coast.

Storm surge of about 1- to 2 meters above astronomical tide would inundate low-lying areas of Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam districts at the time of landfall.

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