North coastal districts crippled

Visakhapatnam: Administration in north coastal districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam on Monday is facing the gigantic task of relief operation in the aftermath of Huhud cyclone which devastated the infrastructure.

Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts too were crippled by the devastating cyclone. Vizianagaram received the heaviest rainfall. In some parts of the district, rainfall recorded exceeded 38 cm.

Crops in one acre were decimated. Preliminary estimates have shown that as many as 650 thatched houses collapsed, 46 highways suffered damage and 19 tanks breached.

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 200 kmph tore away roofs and hoardings in the city. The city was without power, water and milk, Petrol became a scarce commodity. Harried residents reeled off their tales of horror. Liquor shops, however, opened early.

The tall apartments on Beach Road in the city shook violently as the high velocity wind sweeping across at a high speed of 200 kmph. The window panes and doors of apartment on upper floors were ripped up. It was a nightmarish experience for residents in the apartment. It was eerie and horrifying for the residents as they feared that the flats on the top may cave in.

The last cyclone that smashed the city was in mid-90s and for the younger generation that hardly knew a cyclone, with Hudhud crossing the coast near the city and its after-effects, it was a bitter experience.

There was no let up in rain and gales. Only around 9 pm on Sunday the rain and wind stopped. All through the day several residents had to shove out water that flowed in from terraces.

With trees with massive trunks falling across the roads in thickly populated areas, lanes and by lanes, it was a close call for residents. People had to pass through narrow pathways amid uprooted trees in areas like Sitammadhara.

At Sitammadhara north extension, residents came together to provide water, cleared the branches of trees and made way for themselves.

At Gopalapatnam too, residents’ association members put their shoulders together cutting off branches and making way for moving out.

The cyclone has snapped water and power supply and communication links. Most of the petrol pumps were closed due to the damage caused by the cyclone and those which had opened today, 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 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 tomorrow 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.