Cyclone Hudhud destroys 48k homes in Odisha

Bhubaneswar:Around 48,000 houses, 24 transformers and 600 electric poles have been damaged while hundreds of trees have been uprooted due to cyclone Hudhud that hit Odisha, a state government report said Monday.

The report was discussed at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

"I had a meeting about the damage being done to infrastructure in the cyclone-hit districts. Houses were damaged in southern districts, power lines are badly affected in Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri districts," Patnaik said.

He said power restoration work is going on and 90 percent of the work will be completed by Monday evening.

Informing that rescue teams are engaged in clearing roads, he said assessment about crops being damaged would be completed in a short time.

Special Relief Commissioner Pradipta Mohapatra said while about 25,000 houses have been damaged in Koraput, 15,000 have been damaged in Gajapati, 7,000 in Rayagada and 1,000 in Malkangiri.

"We are waiting for reports from other districts as well," said Mohapatra.

A total of 2.33 lakh people have been evacuated because of the cyclone.