Cyclone Midhili, which had battered Tripura and Mizoram with heavy rain the previous day, weakened into a depression on Saturday, bringing some respite to the two northeastern states. There was no fresh rainfall in either state since the early hours of Saturday, and skies remained clear in Mizoram and overcast in Tripura.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its bulletin that the cyclonic storm, after crossing the Bangladesh coast, had weakened into a deep depression and later into a depression, and was lying about 50 km east-southeast of Tripura’s capital Agartala.
The IMD had earlier issued a red alert for Tripura and Mizoram, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall and squally winds with speeds reaching up to 100 km per hour. However, the actual rainfall was much less than expected, and there were no reports of any major damage.
Fishermen in the Sundarbans area of West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district were advised not to venture into the deep seas due to the rough weather conditions.
The IMD has forecast that the depression will further weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area over south Assam and adjoining Mizoram-Tripura during the next six hours.
