India’s Odisha, Andhra Pradesh states brace for cyclonic storm

NEW DELHI: A deep depression over India’s Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm that is expected to make landfall on Sunday, the state-run India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.

By Sunday evening, the cyclone is expected to cross the southern coastal parts of Odisha state in India’s east and northern areas of Andhra Pradesh state in the country’s south, with wind gusts of up to 95 kph (59 mph), the IMD said. On Saturday, Rajiv Gauba, India’s most senior civil servant, reviewed the measures put in place by federal and local agencies in both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.