Port Blair, January 5: Cyclone Pubak has made landfall in Andaman and Nicobar islands on Saturday. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the Andaman Sea and adjoining southeast and east central Bay of Bengal till January 7. The India Meteorological Department has also issued a warning of heavy rainfall in the area with a wind speed of 70-80 kmph. Earlier in the day, a ‘yellow alert’ was issued in the islands.

The sea condition will be very rough over the Nicobar Islands till Sunday due to the cyclone. People in the Andaman Islands are advised to remain in safe places. Meanwhile, the Odisha government on Friday had put seven districts including Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Ganjam and Khurda on alert. The cyclonic storm is very likely to move north-northwestwards and then recurve northeastwards towards Myanmar coast and weaken gradually during January 7-8.

The cyclone had already wreaked havoc in Thailand. The Pubak killed three people and prompted an evacuation of more than 34,000 villagers in southern Thailand. Director General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Chayaphol Thitisak said one fisherman was killed due to the tropical storm in the sea off Pattani province, while two elderly persons were reportedly killed in Nakhon Si Thammarat province on Friday. Eight southern provinces of Thailand were affected by Pabuk, including Chumphon, Songkhla, Phatthalung, Pattani, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 05, 2019 08:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).