Cyclone Pabuk: Orange alert sounded for Andaman and Nicobar islands; storm expected to cross region tonight

New Delhi: The Centre has sounded an Orange alert for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which is facing a cyclonic storm, officials said Sunday. Cyclonic storm “Pabuk” is approaching the archipelago and currently hovering over the Andaman sea and the neighbourhood, they added. [caption id=“attachment_5844601” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Cyclone Pabuk hit Thailand earlier this week, and is expected to make landfall in the Andaman and Nicobar islands on 8 January. AP[/caption] An “orange” weather warning means people should “be prepared” and there is an increased likelihood of bad or extreme weather, which may disrupt road and air travel and threaten life and property. The cyclonic storm is currently over the Andaman sea and its neighbourhood and it has moved north-northwestwards at a speed of 20 kilometres per hour in the last six hours. It lays centred near latitude 11 degrees North and longitude 95.5 degrees East, about 310 kilometres east-southeast of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The cyclonic storm is very likely to continue to move north-northwestwards and cross the Andaman islands by Sunday night with a wind speed of 65-75 kilometres per hour, gusting to 85 kilometres per hour, the official said. Thereafter, it is very likely to move north-northwestwards and then recurve north-eastwards, towards the Myanmar coast, and weaken gradually thereafter, he added, quoting from the bulletin.