Swell surge warning to Kerala, South Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands tomorrow: INCOIS

Hyderabad: Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) on Friday warned that there is possibility of swell surges and rough sea conditions associated with the effect of high period swell waves that are approaching from distant southern Indian Ocean.

The event started at around 10,000 km away from Indian coast on April 26, 2024 in the southern Atlantic Ocean (15E and 60S) and slowly moved towards southern Indian Ocean (35-55E; 60-50S) around April 28, 2024, the Centre, which provides forecasts on the state of the ocean during extreme weather conditions, said in a release here.

This caused the high energy swell propagation (24 s) towards the Indian coastal regions which is expected to hit the southern tip of India in the early hours (02:30 AM) on Saturday.

These long period swells combined with high tide conditions can cause coastal flooding in the low-lying areas of Lakshadweep, Kerala, South Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Odisha and West Bengal coasts during May 4 -5,2024, the release said.

The low-lying coastal areas are particularly vulnerable. Fishermen and coastal population are alerted to be cautious on possible surging of waves (gushing of sea water) intermittently in the nearshore/beach region, particularly in the low-lying areas.

Small vessels not to ply near shore and boats may be anchored at a fair distance from each other, to avoid collision and damage.

Total suspension of operational/recreational activities at beach/nearshore regions during May 4-5, 2024, the release added.