With cyclone Hudhud brewing in the Bay of Bengal and heading towards Andhra Pradesh coast, the Indian Meteorological Department warned that it will further intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm over the next 12 hours, Andhra Pradesh Government has put its entire administration on a high alert.
This is the first cyclone post bifurcation which Andhra Pradesh will be facing, putting its ability to face the calamity on test. Nine of the thirteen districts of Andhra Pradesh dot a thousand km long coastline.Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday held a review meeting with the senior officials and directed the administration to keep the people informed and alert. He also ordered the officials to start taking measures to move the people to safer places and ensure availability of food and drinking water to them.
Chief Secretary IYR Krishna Rao also held a video conference with the collectors and Superintendents of Police of the coastal districts to discuss the preparedness. “Our top priority should be to ensure that there is no loss of life and property,” he said.
As the cyclone was likely to cross the coast between Visakhapatanam and Gopalapuram around noon on Sunday (October 12), administration was paying full attention to this region. Cyclone Warning Center in Visakhapatnam said that Hudhud lay centered 720 kms south east of Visakhapatanam on Thursday afternoon and it was moving in north-westerly direction.
The coast will start feeling the impact of the cyclone from the evening of October 11 as there will be winds of 50 to 60 kms per hour along the coast. On October 12, at the time of cyclone crossing the coast, the gale winds will reach a speed of 130 to 140 kms per hour gushing to a speed of 150 kms per hour. Two-meter high tidal waves will also lash the coast line in north coastal Andhra.
Apart from Visakhapatanam an alert has also been sounded in Srikakulam Vizianagara, East and West Godavari districts.State Government has asked the administration to vacate the people from low lying areas to safer places including cyclone shelters. Weather office has warning heavy to very heavy rain fall over South Odisha and adjoining Andhra Pradesh.
Hudhud is the first major cyclone to hit the region after last year’s cyclone Phailin.National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) has kept 51 relief teams ready for deployment in the vulnerable coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bengla and Bihar. They have also kept 162 boats ready for the rescue operations.
Meanwhile the Telangana Government has also asked the administration to be ready as the impact of the cyclone was likely to be felt in the State as it may cause heavy rains.As a precautionary measure, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti has postponed its plenary and public meeting in view of the cyclone threat. They were scheduled to be held on October 11 and 12.