RRB exams on October 11-12 cancelled as Cyclone 'Titli' intensifies into ‘severe storm’

The coastal states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh braced for heavy rains as Cyclone ‘Titli’ intensified into a severe cyclonic storm on Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Due to cyclone 'Titli', the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) exam that was scheduled on October 11 and 12 in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur, Khurda and Berhamapur has been cancelled. Revised dates and place will be forwarded to the candidates on their mobile numbers and email, said Chairman of RRB, Bhubaneswar.

Odisha: Due to #Titli,Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) exam that was scheduled on 11&12 Oct in Bhubaneswar,Cuttack,Dhenkanal, Sambalpur,Khurda&Berhamapur has been cancelled.Revised dates&place to be sent to candidates on their registered mobile no&email:Chairman, RRB, Bhubaneshwar

— ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2018

The cyclone is expected to make a landfall between Gopalpur in Odisha and Kalingapatanam in Andhra Pradesh at 5:30 am on Thursday at a wind speed of 145 kmph, the IMD said.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik chaired a meeting in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday to take stock of the situation. He asked the collectors of Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, Kendrapara and Jagtsinghpur districts to go for an immediate evacuation of people in the low-lying areas in the coastal belt. The chief minister has also asked the authorities to ensure "zero casualty" and keep the cyclone shelters ready in the event of a disaster.

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“Titli moved with a speed of about 10 kmph and intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and lay centred over the west-central Bay of Bengal, about 370 km south-southeast of Gopalpur in Odisha,” the weather office said in a bulletin.

Director of the Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar, H R Biswas said that after the landfall, Cyclone ‘Titli’ was likely to curve northeastward and move towards Gangetic West Bengal across Odisha and weaken gradually, according to PTI.

The IMD has issued a warning of “heavy to very heavy rainfall” at several places and “extremely heavy rainfall” at some isolated areas till Thursday.

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The IMD also warned fishermen along the Odisha coast and central and north Bay of Bengal against venturing into the sea till Friday. The Odisha government has issued high alert across all the districts and started shifting of coastal hutment dwellers to safe places.