NDMA: 5 lakh evacuated from AP, Odisha

New Delhi: Around 445,000 people have been evacuated from the coastal areas of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh where the cyclonic storm Phailin will make landfall Saturday evening, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said.

"About 360,000 people from four districts of Odisha, and 85,000 from three districts of Andhra Pradesh have been evacuated," said NDMA vice chairman Shashidhar Reddy.

"On the whole, 12,000 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel are deployed in Odisha and 600 in Andhra Pradesh," he told reporters here.

Twenty three teams of NDRF are deployed in Odisha, whereas there are 11 teams in Andhra Pradesh, he said.

According to the NDMA vice chairman, old buildings, power and communication lines, and roads will be damaged in the cyclonic storm.

"Crops will be the worst hit due to the cyclone," Reddy said.

He also said that of all the resources available to NDMA, 40 percent will be used in Ganjam district in Odisha, which is likely to bear the maximum damage.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), cyclonic strom Phailin now lay about 310 km south-southeast of Paradip in Odisha, and it could hit the land between 6 and 8 p.m Saturday, with wind speeds of 210-220 kmph.

The storms would inundate low lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts of Odisha and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh.