IMD on Sunday warned fishermen while venturing into sea along the Odisha coast in view of a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal named Kyant, with the system likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm.

Bhubaneswar Met office has said the actual impact on the state can be stated only after the cyclonic storm recurves close to the Myanmar coast today.

It added that the deep depression lay centred about 950 km east-southeast of Gopalpur, a place in Ganjam district of Odisha.

The system is most likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm in 24 hours and move north-eastwards to reach close to north Myanmar coast shortly. Thereafter, it will recurve initially north-northwestwards skirting Myanmar coast and then north-westwards towards the of north-west Bay of Bengal, it said.

While sporadic rainfall may occur in 11 districts in the central and north Odisha on October 26 and 27, weather elsewhere in the state would be generally dry during the next 24 hours, but the sky would be cloudy, Director of the Meteorological Centre here, Sarat Chandra Sahu said. However, Distant Cautionary Signal Number One (DC-I) has been hoisted at all ports in Odisha and fishermen are advised to be cautious while venturing into interior and distant sea along Odisha coast during the period.

Meanwhile, Special Relief Commissioner Pradipta Mohapatra asked people not to panic, stating that the government is fully prepared to tackle any kind of eventuality.

The 1999 Super Cyclone and the Cyclone Phailin had struck in the month of October and wreaked havoc in Odisha.