Port Blair: In view of the tropical cyclonic storm Pabuk inching closer towards the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an Orange alert.
The cyclonic storm, which originated in Gulf of Thailand made landfall on Friday afternoon in Nakhon Si Thammarat province.
Currently, it is moving north-northwestwards with a speed of 20 since the past six hours. It is likely to cross Islands late on Sunday with speed of 90 .
The IMD has said that the storm lay centred about 370 km east-southeast of Port Blair at 2.30 on Sunday morning. It is likely to continue to move north-northwestwards for some more time and then cross Islands by Sunday evening.
It has warned of damage to thatched houses and snapping of power and communication lines when the storm passes the region. The IMD has also urged people to remain in safe places. Fishermen have been warned not to venture in the sea till January 8.
Several parts of the Andaman islands have been witnessing heavy rains since Saturday morning and all the inter-island ships have been cancelled. Two teams of National Disaster Response Force have been deployed to tackle the situation.
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