New Delhi: Cyclone Fani is expected to become stronger and develop into an extremely severe cyclonic storm and move northwestwards till May 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday, warning coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to brace for very strong winds, heavy rainfall and rough seas.

The storm is currently centred over the southeast Bay of Bengal its and adjoining areas, less than 1,000 km southeast of Chennai. It could generate gusts of winds with speeds of up to 50-60 km per hour in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

“Cyclonic Storm ‘Fani’, as on Monday morning, is located at 880 Kms South East of Chennai. It is expected to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm by April 30. The storm will continue to move North West and change its path to North East from May 1,” the IMD said in a statement.

“The cyclone is likely to attain its strongest force on May 1 and 2 when, at its centre, wind speeds could be as high as 185 km per hour. But since the nearest Indian coast, in northern Andhra Pradesh or southern Odisha, is likely to be at least 300 km away, the coastal areas are likely to experience wind speeds of about 60 km per hour,” an IMD official told News18.

The NDRF and the Indian Coast Guard have been put on high alert and placed at the disposal of the state governments concerned. Regular warnings have been issued since April 25 to fishermen not to venture into the sea and asking those at sea to return to coast, it said.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), landfall over Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh is ruled out. However, the possibility of landfall in Odisha is under continuous watch.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is closely monitoring the situation and has directed the cabinet secretary to convene the Meeting of National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) to take stock of the situation with state governments and central ministries/agencies concerned and ensure that all preparations to deal with any situation are in place,” the IMD said.

The weather department has predicted light to moderate rainfall at many places and heavy rainfall at isolated places in Kerala on April 29 and April 30. It also predicted light to moderate rainfall at a few places over north coastal Tamil Nadu and south coastal Andhra Pradesh and south coastal Odisha over the next two days. The rainfall is likely to increase over coastal Odisha from May 3, it added.

The sea conditions, IMD predicts, will be rough to very rough off the coasts of Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh from April 29 to May 1. The fishermen have been advised not to venture into deep sea areas for the next few days.

The weather department also said that the terrain is such that system would not be able to escape the coastal areas. Initially, Tamil Nadu needs to be on alert, as would encounter some high velocity winds, moderate rains with some intense showers.

Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea during these days, while locals have been urged to refrain from night travels where landslides are a possibility.