Hudhud puts AP in distress

An alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall has been sounded in districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram and in some parts of Odisha where the cyclone, which has claimed eight lives so far, had moved before heading to Chhattisgarh.

Over 2.48 lakh people in 320 villages of 44 mandals (blocks) have been affected by the cyclone in Andhra Pradesh. As many as 1,35,262 persons have been evacuated and accommodated in 223 relief camps.

It was a picture of destruction in Visakhapatnam, which bore the brunt of the cyclone fury, with hundreds of fallen trees, poles and other rubble blocking the roads as winds of almost 200kmph tore away roofs and hoardings in the city, where the cyclone made landfall on Sunday.

"There is no power, no water or milk, no electricity. We are not getting petrol. We cannot move on the roads. It is difficult to survive a single day here," said a harried resident.

The cyclone has snapped water and power supply and communication links have collapsed in the affected areas. Most of the petrol pumps were closed due to the damage caused by the cyclone and those which had opened on Monday, saw people queueing up in large numbers.

The airport and railway lines in the city were badly damaged in the heavy downpour and gusty winds.

The state government has started the tedious exercise of assessing damage and losses with chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu directing Hyderabad-headquartered National Remote Sensing Centre to use geo-tagging to put the data on damage on the map.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Visakhapatnam on Tuesday to take stock of the situation while chief minister Chandrababu Naidu's cabinet is expected to be in the city as the government focuses on bringing life back to normal in the affected districts.

According to the state's revenue (disaster management) department, five persons were killed in the incidents of wall and roof collapses and uprooting of trees in the region. The deceased included one-year-old P Naga Manoj here.

According to Met department, Hudhud lay centred very close to south Chhattisgarh and adjoining southwest Odisha. It would move north-northwestwards and weaken gradually.

In Odisha, where three persons were killed, the state government braced for relief and rehabilitation in the affected southern districts where its damaged houses and uprooted trees and poles.

As a precautionary measure, around 2.33 lakh people had been evacuated in Odisha and free kitchens have been set up in around 2,000 shelter homes in the ten districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Koraput, Malkangiri, Puri, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kendrapara, Kalahandi and Khurda, a senior official said.

Those sheltered in these centres would be able to leave for their homes as soon as the situation improves and wind speed falls, he said.

Road and train operations to Vishakhapatanam were suspended during the cyclonic movement on Sunday as a precautionary measure in view of the storm. While the state government stopped plying of buses to Andhra Pradesh and many southern Odisha districts, railways cancelled 58 trains and diverted 50 others.

While bus services were resuming to some places on Monday, the railway was also planning to run trains up to Palasa, sources said.

Uprooting of trees and damage to thatched houses were reported from some of the southern districts, special relief commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra said, adding immediate steps have been taken for clearance of roads.

Rains accompanied by gusty wind continued in several parts of south Odisha including Malkangiri district and officials said the wind speed would gradually decrease.

Under the influence of the system, rainfall at most places with heavy (6.5-12.4 cm) to very heavy (12.5-24.4 cm) at a few places would occur over Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam districts of north Andhra Pradesh besides some districts of south Odisha during the next 24 hours.

The met office has forecast rainfall at some places in districts of north Odisha too.

The Andhra government said that district officials, heads of departments and every government employee would be on field for relief, restoration and rehabilitation works.

Vizag airport was flooded with strong winds damaging the roof, forcing the authorities to suspend operations.

Residents in Visakhapatnam and other affected cities said that vegetables and other food items were in short supply and their prices have shot up.

"The government was able to reduce loss of life due to the precautionary measures taken," the chief minister said and directed officials to take up restoration work on a war-footing from Monday.

The state government has issued an order deputing senior officers to supervise rescue, relief and rehabilitation measures and coordinate with commissioner (disaster management), NDMA and NDRF and other authorities.

Naidu said that photographs of crop loss, damaged roads, bridges, reservoirs, tanks and railway lines would be made available through satellite technology by Indian Space Research Organisation.

The Centre has been keeping a close watch on the situation. The Prime Minister tweeted: "Have been constantly taking updates on cyclone Hudhud. Spoke to AP CM. Will visit Visakhapatnam tomorrow and take stock of the situation."

Home minister Rajnath Singh said he had spoken to chief ministers of Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal to take stock of the situation.

"The states seem to be prepared for any eventuality arising from the impact of Hudhud that is expected to bring heavy rains," Singh said on Twitter.