A waterspout occurred off the Kakinada coast and it was recorded by a group of fisherfolk near Byravapalem in East Godavari district on June 4. The videos of the occurrence surfaced in various groups on Thursday. Kammadi Veerababu and his group recorded the waterspout on the sea nearly four km from the land.
It is a rare phenomenon on the East Coast, particularly the Andhra Pradesh coast, while a waterspout was reported off Thiruvananthapuram coast early this year, according to the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS-Hyderabad).
“What occurred off the Kakinada coast is a waterspout. Once precipitation occurs, the spout slowly collapses. Whenever Cumulonimbus cloud descends downward due to heavy weight, waterspout develops and the tail part of the cloud reaches toward the sea surface. Around the sprout winds swirl. It is a phenomenon over the seas and occurs commonly,” observed V.S.N. Murthy, Chief Scientist (Retired), National Institute of Oceanography (Regional Centre-Visakhapatnam).
According to locals, with whom the fisherfolk on the sea shared the details on the sighting of the waterspout, it had further moved towards the deep seaside and gradually disappeared after a few minutes. The phenomenon was record at around 11 a.m. on June 4.
Mix of air, water
R. Harikumar, Scientist and In-Charge, Ocean State Forecast Services, INCOIS, told The Hindu: “The waterspout recorded off Kakinada coast is small in size (spreads in a few metres diametre). It is a mix of wind and water. It can be considered as a ‘short scale phenomenon’. It can not travel much distance on the sea.
“The fisherfolk, particularly those fishing in the sea, should not attempt to venture close to the waterspout as surroundings of the sea do not support for smooth sailing. It is advisable for them to escape from it soon after it is noticed”, said Mr. Harikumar.
