The State Government on Friday asked the Malkangiri district Collector to shift the Bonda people residing in the Bonda hills to safer places before the cyclonic storm Hudhud hits the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast on October 12.
Addressing a Press conference here, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Mohapatra informed about this besides stating that Collectors of the vulnerable districts have already undertaken required measures to effectively handle the possible disaster.
“While evacuation plans have been finalised by the concerned district Collectors, the Malkangiri district administration has been particularly asked to evacuate Bonda people from the Bonda hill to safer places before the cyclonic storm hits the coast,” he said.
Quoting India Meteorological Department (IMD), he said the severe cyclonic storm moved west-northwestwardly and lay centred in the Bay of Bengal about 700 km southeast of Gopalpur at 2.30 pm on Friday.
He said two holidays, second Saturday and Sunday, have been cancelled and all offices of the State Government including PSUs would remain open on the two days. As many as 14 satellite phones have been provided to different Collectors and key State-level officers for smooth communication in case of breakdown of the usual communication systems. Besides, the satellite phones available with the State police would be utilised for emergency communication.
Mock drills were conducted in all 323 multipurpose shelters by rescue agencies with active participation of community on Friday. Various emergency equipment items like generators, water pumps, inflatable tower light and mechanized tree cutters were test-checked during the drill.
He informed that 10 units of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and 16 units of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in strategic places in the vulnerable districts. Besides, the Fire Service units would be associated in the search, rescue and evacuation operations, he said.
The SRC further informed that the Water Resources Department is monitoring water levels of all dams and MIPs and has taken steps to reduce the storage, wherever necessary, to manage the flood situation. All other departments have been alerted to take appropriate measures, he said.