Cyclone affects 21,500 people in Kakinada district

Kakinada: Cyclone Arnab has caused extensive damage across Kakinada district, affecting 21,522 people in 29 villages spread over seven mandals, district collector M N Harendhira Prasad said on Wednesday.

Reviewing the situation at the district control room in the Collectorate, the collector said one village was completely inundated due to the impact of the cyclone. Heavy rains and strong winds damaged agricultural crops across 14,414 hectares and horticultural crops over 997.344 hectares, causing substantial losses to farmers.

The cyclone also damaged 78 houses, including one pucca house and four thatched houses that collapsed completely. One thatched house suffered severe damage, while five pucca houses and 67 thatched houses were partially damaged. Ten large animals died, and three cattle sheds were damaged.

Strong winds uprooted 484 trees across the district, disrupting road traffic. The authorities were taking steps to remove fallen trees and restore normal movement.

The fishing sector also suffered considerable losses. Three fishermen who had ventured into the sea went missing, while 68 boats and fishing nets were lost. Another 682 boats and nets were reported damaged. The damage included 459 nets and 261 boats, according to the preliminary assessment. Fish and shrimp culture ponds spread over 80 acres were also damaged, resulting in estimated losses of Rs 151 lakh in the fisheries sector.

The power infrastructure suffered extensive damage, with three substations, three 33 KV feeders and 30 11 KV feeders affected.

Around 80 11 KV poles, 68 low-tension poles and 11 33 KV poles were damaged or uprooted. Rural water supply works also suffered damage estimated at Rs 10 lakh.

The collector said 137 rehabilitation centres had been established across the district, while 20 personnel from the NDRF and SDRF were deployed for rescue and relief operations. A total of 55 boats were being used to assist people in affected areas.

So far, 5,192 people had been rescued from cyclone-hit areas and shifted to rehabilitation centres, where accommodation and other essential facilities were being provided. The administration had distributed 19,896 food packets and 19,802 drinking water packets to the affected people.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deekshitula Subrahmanyam

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Deekshitula RV Subrahmanyam is a Staff Reporter with The Hans India, covering the erstwhile East and West Godavari districts, along with Alluri Sitarama Raju and Polavaram districts. A journalist with experience of over three decades, he began his career as a Telugu mofussil reporter in 1991. He writes extensively on politics, tribal affairs, rural development, tourism, development, and human-interest stories He is the author of the six-part Telugu prose Ramayana Sitarama Kathasudha and has received several literary and journalistic honours, including the JCI Young Writer Award, Vadlamudi Rammohan Rao Memorial Award and Madduri Annapurnayya Memorial Award.

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