Power lines, houses damaged in Prakasam

Ongole: Cyclone Murasu hit Prakasam district with winds of 120 km per hour and damaged the power infrastructure and houses in coastal mandals. District collector P Raja Babu assured that restoration of the electricity is on war footing and requested the public to support the administration.

Speaking at a press meet in Ongole on Wednesday, the collector said that the strong winds uprooted trees and broke power cables. About 1,000 electrical poles were damaged, and 12 substations on the 33 KV lines affected. He said around 500 electrical workers came from Karnataka overnight and working with the local teams, they helped restore power to 50 percent of the area overnight. Officials plan to reach 80 per cent by 10 am on Thursday and full restoration by 2 pm. Generators and extra lights have been placed at important centres that are facing blackouts, he said.

Raja Babu said that before the cyclone made landfall, officials moved 2,800 people from risky areas to safe shelters. Because of this, no one lost their life. Families in relief camps are getting Rs 3,000 in cash and 25 kg to 50 kg of rice, along with cooking oil, pulses, onions and potatoes. He said that about 500 houses were partly or fully damaged, and officials are enumerating the loss so that families can get compensation.

Regarding the agriculture loss, the collector said that about 3,000 hectares of crops were affected by wind and rain. Drainage channels were dug in 940 hectares of paddy fields to remove water and save the crop.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Naresh Nandam

Naresh.Nandam[email protected]

Naresh Babu Nandam works as a Special Correspondent at The Hans India and primarily covers the erstwhile Prakasam district. He has a master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and a bachelor's degree in Law. He has around twenty years of experience in print and broadcast journalism. He is a certified Google News Initiative trainer for fact-checking and online verification. Outside his journalism work, he is an OSINT practitioner and takes part in CTF challenges. He is the author of a spiritual thriller titled 'The Amber Scroll', available on Amazon.in.

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