Swell Surge Warning to Kerala, South Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Hyderabad: Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) on Friday that there was a 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.
Swell surges started at approximately 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.
This caused the high energy swell propagation (~24 s) towards the Indian coastal regions which is expected to hit southern tip of India in the early hours 2.30 a.m. of May 4, 2024. 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 and Nicobar Islands, Odisha and West Bengal coasts during May 4 and 5, 2024.
The low-lying coastal areas are particularly vulnerable. The INCOIS is presently monitoring the situation and the updates will appear on its website. The public is advised to check INCOIS website at www.incois.gov.in/portal/osf/osf.jsp for further information and updates on the event.
Fishermen and coastal population are alerted to be cautious on possible surging of waves (gushing of sea water) intermittently in the nearshore or beach region, particularly in the low-lying areas. Small vessels not to ply nearshore. 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 4-5, May 2024
INCOIS is continuously engaged in providing ocean information, warnings, advisories, and ocean state forecasts to various stake holders.
INCOIS, as part of Ocean State Forecast (OSF) Services, forecasts wave height, direction and period (of both wind waves and swell waves), Sea surface currents, Sea Surface Temperature, etc. INCOIS also provides forecasts on the state of the ocean during extreme weather conditions like cyclones, high wave/swell conditions, etc. based on multi-model operational forecasting system built upon numerical ocean models assimilated with real time data from buoys deployed in the coastal waters as well as in the open ocean, even deep south in the southern Indian Ocean.