21 dead in Andhra and Odisha as cyclone moves north-west after lashing Chhattisgarh with rain
After cyclone Hudhud weakened on Monday in the worst-affected States of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, authorities were busy counting the dead and assessing the damage to infrastructure.
At many places along the coastal belt in the two States, uprooted trees, damaged mobile phone towers, telephone poles and power transformers spoke about the scale of devastation the cyclone had left in its wake. Till now, 21 people are reported to have been killed and thousands rendered homeless.
According to the Met Department, the cyclone has moved North-West after lashing Chhattisgarh with heavy rain. The two States are now grappling with the daunting task of rehabilitation, rebuilding and dealing with the shortage of essential commodities. Restoring power, water supply and communication links are also major challenges ahead of them.
As per reports, about 250,000 people in 320 villages have been affected in Andhra Pradesh and over 100,000 have been shifted to 223 relief camps. In Odisha around 233,000 people had been evacuated from vulnerable areas to safe places in ten districts in view of Hudhud. National Disaster Response Force and Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force teams were now gearing up for post-cyclone operations in order to restore normalcy.
In New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting to review the status of relief and rescue operations in areas affected by the cyclone. The Prime Minister is expected to visit Vizag on Tuesday for a first-hand assessment of the situation there. He will also undertake an aerial survey of the affected parts of Odisha. Modi has instructed top officials of the Union Government to work closely with the affected States to ensure that there are no bottlenecks in relief and rescue work.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to the Chief Ministers of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh asking them to be ready to face the onslaught of heavy rains and floods, and assured them of all help from the Centre. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has asked the Centre to provide financial assistance of Rs 2,000 crores and to declare the tragedy a national calamity.
The Andhra Government has started assessing the damage and losses. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday made an aerial survey of cyclone-hit areas of north coastal Andhra. He took off in a helicopter from Rajahmundry and flew over some affected areas including the worst-hit Visakhapatnam to see the damage. He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister N Chinna Rajappa and Finance Minister Y Ramakrishnudu.
Naidu later landed in Visakhapatnam and drove to the District Collector’s office, where he plans to camp for three to four days to oversee the rescue and relief operations.
The Chief Minister held a meeting with senior officials and directed them to take immediate steps to restore communication and electricity supply. He has directed the National Remote Sensing Centre to use geo-tagging to put the data on damage on the map. Naidu also announced that each cyclone-affected family would get 25 kg of rice and five litres of kerosene.
In neighbouring Odisha, teams of rescue workers were busy clearing the debris that lay strewn on the roads. “We moved out more than 274,000 people and by God’s grace, there has been no rise in the number of casualties,” said special relief commissioner PK Mohapatra. “Our advance teams did a great job and cleared the roads within an hour”, he added.
A report released by the Odisha Government said the cyclone damaged as many as 600 electric poles, 24 transformers, 75 km of electric wires and 48,000 houses.
On Monday, an alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall was given in districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram and in some parts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
According to the Met Department, Hudhud lay centred very close to South Chhattisgarh and adjoining south-west Odisha as on date. It would move north-northwestwards and weaken gradually. Rain and thundershowers are expected at most places over Odisha till Tuesday.
The maximum impact of the cyclone was witnessed in South Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division where an average 65-70 mm rainfall has been recorded since Sunday evening, triggering rise in water level in rivers and small streams. Moderate to heavy rains continued in Dantewada, Sukma, Kanker and Bastar while good showers were recorded in Raipur, Rajnandgaon, Kawardha, Durg, Mahasamund and other districts.