8 dists bear the brunt in Odisha

• More than 1 lakh people evacuated in Odisha as Cyclone Hudhud hits state
• Affected people have been accommodated in 604 shelter homes: CM Patnaik
• Entire coastal and southern region experienced moderate to heavy rainfall
• Admin keeps Army teams and choppers standby for rescue, relief operations

Bhubaneswar: As very severe cyclonic storm Hudhud made a landfall, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said 1.56 lakh people have been evacuated and the state administration is prepared to face the eventuality.
"The cyclone had its impact in different districts of Odisha like Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Puri, Kalahandi and Kendrapara," Patnaik said.

1.56 lakh people have been evacuated to safe places, the CM said, directing the officials to continue the evacuation of people from vulnerable areas as the complete impact of the cyclone would be felt some hours after the landfall.

The affected people have been accommodated in 604 shelter homes, Patnaik said, adding the state government was prepared to face the situation caused by the cyclone and possible floods thereafter.

Patnaik, who reviewed the situation at the Special Relief Commissioners (SRC) office here, also enquired about the water reservoir positions at different places particularly in southern districts where the cyclone Hudhud had its maximum impact, officials said.

Under the impact of the cyclone, the entire coastal and southern region experienced moderate to heavy rainfall since Sunday early morning though the maximum wind speed was below 60 kmph.

However, the weather office predicted an increase in the wind speed in eight southern districts. The state government has identified the eight districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Kandhamal and Kalahandi which beard the maximum brunt of the cyclone.

The administration had kept Army teams and choppers standby for rescue and relief operations besides deploying NDRF and ODRAF personnel.

"We have been working to ensure zero casualty," SRC Mohapatra said.

Under the impact of the cyclone, heavy rains pounded many parts of Malkangiri, Ganjam, Khurda, Gajapati, Puri and Rayagada districts, while strong surface wind swept several areas. The state capital of Bhubaneswar also experienced rains since Saturday night and the intensity of rain and wind flow is gradually gaining pace as Hudhud roared towards the coast. To deal with the calamity, as many 26 teams - 16 of NDRF and 10 teams of ODRF - have already been deployed in vulnerable places for rescue work, according to Chief Secretary G C Pati. Each team comprises 40 personnel.
"We have been assured by the Centre that army teams will be ready at Raipur in Chhattisgarh and 5 choppers at Kalaikunda in West Bengal for our call," he said.

"We have appealed to the public in the eight districts not to venture out of their houses during the landfall of the cyclone and six hours after that," Mohapatra said, adding BSNL had been requested to send SMS to its users urging them not to venture out.

According to the latest IMD bulletin, rain and thundershowers would occur at most places in the state during the next 48 hours. Similarly, heavy to very heavy rainfall in some places with extremely heavy rainfall is expected at one or two places in Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nawarangpur, Ganjam, Gajpati, Kalahandi and Phulbani of South Odisha in the next 24 hours, said local IMD centre Director Sarat Sahu.

A fisherman was caught in the sea current amid a tidal surge while he was trying to save his fishing boat anchored in the coast of Puri, Special Relief Commissioner P K Mohapatra said. On Saturday, a nine-year-old girl drowned when a boat engaged in evacuation of the people in Satbhaya area of Kendrapara district capsized in the Baunsagadi rivulet.

Hudhud, which was so far a very severe cyclonic storm has now converted into a severe cyclone and its speed is now limited to 100-110 kmph, said M Mahapatra, Scientist at the Cyclone Warning Division.