Heavy rain, storms in Andhra and Odisha, trigger warning, sea bathing banned

A deep depression has crossed the coast of Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Odisha, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a red alert for parts of the southern state. The system is expected to bring heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across several regions, including Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, and Bihar.

Odisha remains under a red alert, while Delhi is predicted to remain dry on Thursday. The deep depression moved northwestwards at around 5 kmph, making landfall around midnight, with the front sector expected to continue for approximately two hours. As it moves northwestwards, the depression is likely to maintain its intensity for the next 12 hours before weakening over the following 24 hours.

Odisha has been evacuated of thousands from vulnerable areas, and schools have been closed due to concerns over extreme rainfall and flash floods. The IMD forecasts heavy to very heavy rainfall over Chhattisgarh, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana on Thursday, with isolated extremely heavy rainfall possible.