Odisha has moved from forecast alert to full deployment ahead of the approaching Bay of Bengal cyclone. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reviewed preparedness at Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar on Saturday and said the state aims for zero casualties, according to PTI and Odisha Barta reports of the review.

Around 60 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), 17 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and 225 fire service teams have been placed on high alert. Cyclone and flood shelters have been prepared, fishermen have been warned not to venture into the sea, and health centres have been told to stock anti-snake venom, essential medicines and medical kits.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says the well-marked low-pressure area over the east-central Bay of Bengal is likely to become a depression on Saturday, a deep depression on October 25 and a cyclonic storm by the morning of October 26. It is expected to move west-northwestwards and reach the west-central Bay of Bengal near the Andhra Pradesh coast around the morning of October 28, with landfall likely between northern Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.

Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri are expected to be the worst affected. Schools, colleges and Anganwadi centres in those five districts will remain closed on October 28 and 29; collectors in other districts will decide on closures according to local conditions. Officials have been asked to give special attention to shifting elderly people, patients and pregnant women to safer places and health centres.

The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in coastal Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh, with extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 20 cm in 24 hours possible on October 28, and gusty winds of 80-90 kmph in southern and coastal Odisha. Residents have been urged to follow official advisories as the track and intensity are updated. Sources: PTI, IMD, Sambad English, Odisha Barta.