As Cyclone Fani Moves to Bangladesh, Assam Puts Districts on High Alert

Guwahati: After the Met Department issued yellow and orange category warning in several places, the Assam government sounded an alert in all its districts. As cyclone Fani moves towards Bangladesh, it is expected to lash Assam and the northeastern region for two days from Saturday.

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) at Guwahati said that there will be heavy to very heavy rainfall with strong surface wind with a speed of up to 40 kmph in most of the north-eastern States, including Assam on May 4-5.

The CWC (Central Water Commission) bulletin predicts high rainfall in the west and central Assam districts. While SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) personnel have been deployed in 40 locations in the State, NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) personnel have been sent for pre-position in six locations – Cachar, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Sonitpur, Tinsukia and Jorhat districts. An NDRF battalion has already been stationed in Dhemaji and Patgaon in Guwahati.

A map shows the movement of the Cyclone Fani

The Regional Meteorology Centre (RMC) in Guwahati has warned that very heavy rainfall is expected in Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Kamrup, Darrang, Morigaon, South Salmara, etc. on Saturday. The RMC has also warned of heavy rainfall in Kamrup(M), Nalbari, Golaghat, Sivasagar, Majuli etc.

On May 5, according to the RMC, while very heavy rainfall is likely at Biswanath, Jorhat and Majuli, heavy rainfall is likely in Kamrup, Dhubri, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Dima Hasao etc.

The ASDMA has put district control rooms with toll-free number 1077 on high alert and State Control Room with toll-free numbers 1070 and 1079 for round-the-clock operations. Further, the State government has directed all the deputy commissioners and agencies concerned to stay alert and take all necessary measures for mitigation of any incidents arising out of cyclone Fani.

Meanwhile, Assam and some other parts of the Northeast have been witnessing light to moderate rains since Friday morning. Officials of the Airport Authority of India at Guwahati said that the departure of most inbound and outbound flights from Guwahati and Kolkata have been cancelled from 3pm on Friday till 8am on Saturday. A total of 20 trains cancelled during these period.

The State administration has put all ferry services in the Brahmaputra and the Barak river systems on hold for the next two days.

Earlier on Friday, the Assam government evacuated over 100 pilgrims who had gone to Odisha. The government, in coordination with the Eastern Railway, arranged three special trains to bring the pilgrims from Odisha to Kolkata. Dispur has been keeping in touch with its Odisha counterpart.