Over 4 lakh being moved to safety in AP Odisha

Ganjam (Odisha): As Cyclone Hudhud is advancing towards the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, large-scale evacuations are on.

Nearly four and a half lakh people from 500 villages in the five coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh are being evacuated and moved to local relief camps. Fishermen have already been told to suspend fishing operations from Saturday morning.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall around Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday before noon, according to the Meteorological department. The cyclone is currently 330 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and 380 km south-southeast of Odisha’s Gopalpur; it has a wind speed of 120-130 kilometres per hour.

In Andhra Pradesh, the three northern coastal districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam are expected to be the worst hit. But authorities in East and West Godavari districts – apprehensive that the cyclone could result in flooding – are drawing up a plan to tackle such an eventuality.

The Odisha government has asked collectors of southern districts – Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi and Kandhamal – to start evacuating those living along the coast to safe buildings and cyclone centres.

Thirty teams of the Indian Navy, along with the National Disaster Relief Force and two columns of the Army have been kept on stand-by to help in relief and rescue operations.

Hudhud was classified as a “very severe cyclonic storm” on Friday. The Met department has warned that the sea condition would be “rough to very rough” from Saturday morning in these districts. “It would gradually become phenomenal from Sunday morning”, warns the bulletin.

The East Coast Railway has decided to cancel the services of 38 trains on the Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam route from 6 am tomorrow. “We do not want even a single casualty,” said a Railway official, adding, “The entire section would be closed to all Mail, Express and Passenger trains”.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has already discussed preparedness with the chief ministers of the two states and also that of Telangana and offered the Centre’s help. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked for additional satellite phones as the telecom network is expected to be affected when the cyclone hits the coast.

The Met department warns that heavy rainfall and strong winds are likely to disrupt electricity and telecommunications services, and road and rail traffic. It has warned of flooding and storm surges up to two metres (6.5 feet) in low-lying areas.

A year ago, a severe cyclone called Phailin battered the same region, also on October 12. Strong disaster preparedness, including the evacuation of nearly one million people to cyclone shelters, helped save the day.