Authorities in India's West Bengal state Saturday began evacuating people living along its coastal districts after a depression formed in the Bay of Bengal off Calcutta.
West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta said an alert had been sounded in the coastal and low-lying areas of South 24-Parganas, North-24 Parganas, Calcutta, Howrah, Nadia and Midnapore districts.
A red alert was also sounded at Calcutta's Hooghly Docks after the depression was reported about 230 kilometres (143 miles) south of Calcutta.
Dasgupta said fishermen had been asked not to venture out to sea.
Calcutta's Meteorological Office director R. N. Goldar said that the depression was likely to intensify with storms of up to 75 kilometres (46 miles) per hour hitting the Sagar Islands off West Bengal's coast.
Goldar said the storm could cause the Hooghly River, which runs through Calcutta, to rise by one-and-a-half metres (4.9 feet).
H.K. Dwivedi, civil head of the 24 Parganas district, said control rooms had been set up at the district headquarters to monitor the evacuation of people from vulnerable areas.
Goldar said the depression was expected to move towards the adjoining coastal state of Orissa.
Heavy monsoon floods in West Bengal have claimed more than 1,000 lives this year – CALCUTTA (AFP)
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