Cyclone Kyarr: Met asks tourists to stay away as Goa braces for its wettest Diwali

PANAJI: India meteorological department (IMD) on Thursday issued an advisory to tourists visiting Goa to avoid the sunshine state up to October 27 due to heavy rainfall.
The Met department also said the state would witness the wettest Diwali, which falls on Sunday.
IMD, which had issued a red alert for Friday, advanced the warning by a day as heavy rain lashed the state all through Thursday throwing normal life out of gear.The weather bureau also forecast heavy rainfall for the next five days.
“We generally never give a warning to tourists, but we have had to issue an advisory as many people have started calling us, especially from Pune, asking whether it is safe to travel. When the cyclone is coming from the west coast, it is better to avoid that region. Since there will be heavy rainfall up to October 27, it is better not to visit Goa for their own safety,” IMD Goa director K V Padgalwar told TOI.
“Tourists cannot go into the sea due to the weather conditions,” he said.
Tourists from the adjoining states usually travel to Goa by road via five major routes: Dodamarg-Tilari, Anmod ghat, Chorla ghat, Karwar and the national highway via Banda.
IMD issued a red alert for Thursday owing to the formation of a depression in the Arabian Sea and its movement in the east-northeast direction of the peninsular region.
“We have issued a red alert on Thursday. We were expecting it on Friday based on our observation. But at the moment extremely heavy rainfall is very likely over the districts of Goa on October 24 and heavy rainfall is likely on October 25,” IMD Goa said.
Read this report in Bengali