Mahasen Red Alert Sounded
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, May 16 2013: After the cyclone "Mahasen" which originated from the westward off the Bay of Bengal violently crossed Bangladesh with reports of death and casualty, signs of possible occurrence of the cyclone were felt in the State too.

There was no sunshine since morning and light showers occurred several times in the day.

Normal life in the state was greatly affected owing to such bad weather condition.

As soon as reports of possible occurrence of cyclone Mahasen in the northeastern region were received, the Ministry of Home Affairs sent a crash message to the State Relief and Disaster Management today alerting the State authorities to take up necessary precautions for the safety of people.

Subsequently, the State government ordered all schools to remain closed tomorrow as a precautionary step.

The decision for the closure of schools was taken after the Principal Secretary of State Relief and Disaster Management Ram Muivah relayed the crash message from MHA to State Chief Secretary and then to Chief Minister.

Mahasen Red Alert Sounded

The decision of the State government for the closure of schools was then relayed to all Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and ADCs as crash message and alerted them to take up precautionary measures in anticipation of possible occurrence of cyclone Mahasen.

The crash message relayed to all the Deputy Commissioners and SPs of the nine districts as well as the ADCs of Moreh, Jiribam and Kangpokpi today, said that the cyclonic storm, Mahasen is likely to hit Manipur and other parts of North East India with a wind speed of 55 to 66 KM per hour from May 16 evening/night for the subsequent 24 hours.

So, as precautionary measures, all the schools are ordered to close down for the duration of the storm.

Meanwhile, talking to Hueiyen Lanpao, Principal Secretary Ram Muivah informed that DGP Joykumar has been directed to alert those police personnel trained in relief and disaster management.

24 personnel of Civil Defense have also been directed to take up necessary precautionary measures.

All other departments including PWD have been informed of the situation and asked them to render assistance at times of emergency, he added.

Ram Muivah further informed that Churachandpur and Tamenglong are likely to face more intense impact if Mahasen happens to reach Manipur.

Members of District Disaster Management Committees have also been directed to take up necessary measures for the safety of people during storms, he noted.

Equipments kept at the Emergency Operation Centre such as life jackets and ropes have been authorized for utilization anytime.

Rs.15 lakh each has also been sanctioned to District Disaster Management Committees for any emergency need.

Meanwhile, according to meteorological reports, the intensity of cyclone Mahasen is said to have gone down and it is unlikely to cause heavy destruction in northeastern region.

Information received from the Meteorological office at Imphal Airport also confirmed that deep depression of the cyclone which was witnessed at 5.30 pm today has ebbed at 11 pm.

So, there is the high chance of the depression becoming low by 5.30 pm tomorrow.

However, rainfall would continue.