Heavy Rains Play Spoilsport With Diwali Festivities

Visakhapatnam: Heavy rains lashed many parts of Odisha on Thursday, dampening the Diwali spirit, as low pressure over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression.

"The well marked low pressure has concentrated into a depression, which was located around 370 km south-southeast of Puri," S C Sahu, the Director of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) centre here, said. The depression is likely to intensify into a deep depression and cross the Odisha coast between Puri and Chandbali by midnight today or tomorrow morning, he said.

Under its impact, rains or thundershowers are likely to occur at most places in coastal Odisha and in the interior parts of the state in the next 24 hours, the MeT office said. There is also possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall in some places of south Odisha and heavy rainfall at some places in the northern districts of the state. Strong and gusty surface winds, reaching up to 65 kilometres per hour (kmph), from the northeasterly direction would blow along the Odisha coast.

Sea condition is likely to be rough to very rough and fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea, the MeT office said. Last-minute Diwali shoppers had a difficult time on Wednesday amidst heavy showers in several areas of the state.