Cyclone Asna Developing Over Saurashtra-Kutch Region; IMD Sounds Alert

Due to a deep depression over Saurashtra and Kutch region, three coastal districts — Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar — have been receiving heavy rainfall.

In a rare August weather event, Cyclone Asna is currently forming over the Saurashtra-Kutch region of Gujarat. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a bulletin predicting that a deep depression in this area will intensify into a cyclonic storm. This cyclone, named Cyclone Asna by Pakistan, is only the fourth cyclonic storm to develop in the Arabian Sea in August since 1891. The IMD highlights that the last such storm occurred back in 1976. This upcoming cyclone is expected to move over the Arabian Sea towards the coast of Oman by Friday, making it the first cyclonic storm to develop in the Arabian Sea in August since 1976. The 1976 cyclone developed over Odisha, moved west-northwestwards, entered the Arabian Sea, followed a looping track, and eventually weakened near the Oman coast.

“What is unusual about the current storm is that it has maintained the same intensity over the past few days,” a scientist with the IMD said. The IMD explains that the tropical storm is situated between two anticyclones, one over the Tibetan Plateau and another over the Arabian Peninsula. This alignment has influenced the storm’s behavior, keeping its intensity steady.

The low-pressure over Central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal is likely to cause very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall likely over Odisha, Coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe, and heavy to very heavy rainfall over North Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and Telangana in the next two to three days.

Gujarat Weather Update

• The IMD has said that the deep depression over Gujarat’s Saurashtra and Kutch is likely to move west-southwestwards and emerge over the northeast Arabian Sea off Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts and intensify into a cyclonic storm.
• This phenomenon is notable as it marks only the fourth occurrence in the last 80 years when a weather system active on land transitions to a cyclone upon reaching the sea.
• Due to a deep depression over Saurashtra and Kutch region, three coastal districts — Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar — have been receiving heavy rainfall during the last two days, said a release by the IMD, adding that parts of this region would receive “heavy to very heavy” rains on Friday too.
• The situation in other parts of rain-battered Gujarat has improved slightly as the rainfall activity subsided, but Vadodara and some other parts of the state are still reeling under a flood-like situation due to overflowing rivers while the authorities continue the rescue and relief operations.
• As per an official release, 140 reservoirs and dams, and 24 rivers in the state were flowing above the danger marks.
• According to the details shared by the Gujarat government, at least one person died in Aravalli, Dwarka, Panchmahal, Dang, Bharuch, Morbi, and Vadodara, six people died in Anand, five people died in Ahmedabad, three people died in Mahisagar and Jamnagar, two people died in Gandhinagar, Kheda, Mahisagar, Dahod and Surendranagar districts.
• More than 32,000 people have been relocated and around 1,200 people rescued from flood-affected areas in the state. In some cases, choppers were used by the security forces to take people to safer locations.
• Teams of the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), its state counterpart SDRF, along with local administration are engaged in relief and rescue operations in the most-affected districts of Vadodara, Dwarka, Jamnagar, Rajkot and Kachchh.

In August, there was 15.9% excess rainfall over the country with 31.4% excess over northwest India; 7.2% excess over east and northeast India; 17.2% excess over central India and 1.3% deficiency over Peninsular India.