The cyclonic storm "Kyarr" is likely to bring very heavy to extremely heavy rains in coastal Maharashtra, IMD officials said on Friday, prompting Palghar district collector Kailas Shinde to issue a warning to fishermen to not venture into the sea. Kyarr is very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours and into a very severe one during the subsequent 24 hours, said an IMD official.
District fisheries department officials on Friday said 1,411 boats had sailed, of which 1,378 had returned, while efforts were on to bring the rest 33 boats safely to shore.
Earlier in the day, the Mumbai centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a deep depression in the Arabian Sea had intensified into cyclonic storm Kyarr.
"Kyarr" is likely to bring very heavy to extremely heavy rains in coastal districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra in the next 12 hours and also cause strong winds. A red alert, indicating 'extremely heavy rainfall', has been issued for Sindhudurg district, which would mean precipitation of 204.5 mm rainfall in 24 hours, IMD said.
It said Kyarr was very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours and into a very severe one during the subsequent 24 hours, and move towards the coast of Oman.
Cyclone Kyarr would result into gale winds, reaching the speed to 85 kmph and by Saturday it would become 110 kmph, the IMD official said.
"Squally wind speed reaching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph is likely to prevail along and off Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Raigad districts of Maharashtra as well as Goa.
"Wind speed of around 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph is likely to prevail along the remaining coastal districts of Maharashtra, north Karnataka coast as well as in the Arabian sea off the Gujarat coast during the next 24 hours," he said.
(With inputs from PTI)