Cyclone Kyarr: The Indian Coast Guard has stepped up efforts to rescue stranded fishermen. (PTI)

Highlights Karnataka and Goa had sounded red alert as cyclone intensified

The Indian Coast Guard has stepped up rescue efforts

Today, the Navy rescued 17 fishermen off the coast of Mumbai

Cyclone Kyarr, a tropical storm that formed in the Arabian Sea, is likely to cause heavy rain in coastal Karnataka, the weather office said on Saturday. The sea condition is "likely to be very rough along and off north Karnataka coast during the next 24 hours," it added.

"The westward moving cyclonic storm is likely to hit Karnataka on Sunday causing with heavy rains and thunder showers in the coastal and south interior areas, disrupting normal life for the next two days," GS Srinivas Reddy, Director of Karnataka's natural disaster monitoring centre, told news agency IANS.

Today, the weather office said that the "extremely severe cyclonic storm" Kyarr, which lay centered about 540 km west-southwest of Mumbai, is likely to intensify into a "super cyclonic storm." It is very likely to move towards the coast of Oman during the next 5 days.

Karnataka and Goa had sounded a red alert as Cyclone Kyarr intensified. Schools and colleges in Karnataka remained closed on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Navy rescued 17 fishermen from a boat - caught in rough sea conditions due to Cyclone Kyarr - off the west coast of Mumbai, officials said. The Navy's INS Teg, a frigate of the Western Fleet, was returning from its deployment in the Arabian sea when it immediately diverted to the area to rescue the fishermen.

The Indian Coast Guard has stepped up efforts to rescue stranded fishermen. "We have rescued 19 fishermen and escorted over 2,100 fishing boats to safety at various ports on the West Coast," a senior official was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.

"Four Coast Guard Dorniers have been tasked with area scan and to locate stranded fishing boats. Two ICG Helo sorties have been augmented for area scan and to locate stranded fishing boats," he added.

(With inputs from IANS)