Heavy rain is likely to affect normal life in the state till Monday with the cyclonic storm Jawad weakening on Saturday.

The India Meteorological Department said the cyclonic storm currently blowing over the west-central Bay of Bengal was likely to turn into a “deep depression” before making landfall near Puri along Odisha’s coast on Sunday afternoon.

Weathermen predicted the cyclonic circulation of wind to move towards the Bengal coast, triggering “enhanced rainfall”, the early impact of which has already become visible from Saturday across the state, particularly its coast.

Officials in coastal areas of South 24-Parganas district took up awareness drives and shifted people to safer places.

“We have so far evacuated 14,375 persons and opened 43 relief camps, 20 relief shelters and 115 additional special relief shelters. There will be more evacuations if needed,” said South 24-Parganas district magistrate P. Ulaganathan, adding that quick response teams of the WBSEDCL, PWD and civil defence were deputed at strategic locations.

Several places in East Midnapore saw rain since Saturday morning. Sea resorts Digha, Mandarmani and Tajpur saw high tide. Tourists were not allowed to venture towards the beaches.

Police and civil defence personnel used the public address system to alert people about the risks.

The East Midnapore district administration has deployed around 500 civic volunteers along the beaches at the three popular tourist spots. Roads leading to the beaches have been cordoned off and cops deployed to stop tourists from heading towards the rough sea.

“Any adventure by tourists will land them in jail. This has been made clear to them,” a police officer said in Digha.

State fisheries minister Akhil Giri visited the coastal areas in Digha and adjacent areas to take stock of the situation.

“Our officials are alert and prepared to handle any emergency. The administration is also keeping tabs on tourists to ensure their safety. Our officials are working in coordination with police, civic defence personnel and the coast guard to respond to any emerging situation,” Giri said.

Officials expressed concern about possible damage to standing crops in case of heavy rainfall as some farmers refused to harvest “premature” crops.

“We are in a dilemma. We have cultivated the Dudhersaar variety of rice, which is too premature to harvest now. We have decided to wait to see the trend of the cyclone till the last minute. If we harvest the crop now and the cyclone changes its path, we will incur heavy losses,” a farmer said.