Depression forms over Arabian Sea

It is expected to reach the Gujarat coast by the morning of May 18.

Residents of the coastal area of Thoppayil in Kozhikode city trying to cover parts a house with plastic and metal sheets to protect it from surging waves.

The well-marked low pressure area over the Arabian Sea has concentrated into a depression in the Lakshadweep region, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

It lies about 80 km south-southwest of Aminidivi and 360 km west-southwest of Kannur in Kerala and 1170 km south-southeast of Veraval, Gujarat.

“'It is very likely to intensify into a deep depression during the next 12 hours and into a cyclonic storm during the subsequent 12 hours. It is very likely to intensify further,” the IMD said. It is expected to reach the Gujarat coast by the morning of May 18.