Bhubaneswar: After enduring repeated spells of heavy monsoon rain and flooding, farmers across Odisha, particularly in coastal districts, are once again worried about damage to standing crops following the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) forecast of a cyclonic storm brewing over the Bay of Bengal.In its latest bulletin, the IMD said Odisha is likely to receive heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, accompanied by winds exceeding 100 kmph, from Oct 27. While the weather system is expected to move towards the west-central Bay of Bengal near the Andhra Pradesh coast by Oct 28, the IMD is yet to specify the likely landfall location.“I fear the cyclone will ruin me again. I had to re-transplant paddy after repeated floods. Now my paddy and Rabi crops are under threat,” said Pabitra Martha, a farmer from Kanas in Puri district, adding he is praying for the safety of his family and livelihood.Sunil Mohanty, a farmer from Barang on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, said the heavy monsoon rain had already damaged vegetables grown on his two-acre farm. “I borrowed money to cultivate winter vegetables. If the cyclone brings heavy rain, I may suffer losses again,” he said.Tushar Ranjan Mohanty of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology said paddy in many coastal areas is currently at the flowering or panicle initiation stage.“Heavy rainfall and strong winds can damage the crop. However, paddy requires substantial water at this stage, and normal rainfall alone may not cause major losses,” he said, advising farmers to harvest crops that are 80-85% mature and ensure proper drainage in fields to prevent waterlogging.The state govt and IMD have separately issued advisories urging farmers to harvest ready crops, store produce safely and make arrangements to drain excess water from agricultural fields.The IMD has issued a red warning for extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati and Ganjam districts on Oct 28. Orange and yellow warnings have been issued for several coastal and interior districts, including Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore, for the three-day period beginning Oct 27.