A boy is pictured on Saturday in the surf as large waves hit the beach ahead of Cyclone Hudhud making expected landfall— AFP
Lakhs evacuated, flights, buses, trains cancelled
The authorities evacuated lakhs of people to safer places as Cyclone Hudhud barrelled towards the Andhra-Orissa coast on Saturday. The severe cyclone is expected to make landfall close to Vizag city, around Bheemili, on Sunday around noon. The storm was expected attain its highest speed, of 195 kmph, before landfall.
In Andhra Pradesh, around 5,00,000 people have been shifted to safety from low-lying areas and several flights from Vizag for Saturday and Sunday were cancelled. Restrictions were imposed on vehicular movement along 350 km of National Highway 16, from Itchapuram in Srikakulam to Payakaraopeta in Vizag district, from Saturday evening. No vehicle will be allowed on NH 16, barring emergency cyclone relief vehicles and ambulances. APSRTC has cancelled as many as 45 long-distance buses.
The severe cyclone was 200 km southeast of the Vizag coast on Saturday evening. Indian Meteorological Depart-ment officials said there has been no change in Hudhud’s path and that it was steadily heading towards Vizag. IMD on Saturday night issued a “Red Message”, or high alert, on the impending storm. The US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre has already predicted stronger wind speeds 194 kmph gusting to 240 kmph in its latest update.
INCOIS warned in its Bulletin 19 on Saturday that the expected wind speed at the time of landfall would be 180 kmph. It cautioned that Pedanagayyapalem in Vizianagaram district could expect a sea surge of 400 metres during the time, Rushikonda Beach with 240 metres, Chintapalli in Srikakulam with 230 metres and Atchanna Agraharam in Srikakulam with 240 metres. IMD also predicted that Vizag, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and East Godavari would receive around 24.5 cm rainfall in the next 48 hours.
The Orissa government launched a massive evacuation mission in vulnerable areas, especially in Ganjam, Gajapti, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Puri, Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Kendrapara districts.
According to reports, nearly 10,000 people, including 350 primitive Bonda tribals living in the Bonda Hills in Malkangiri district, and 500 people from the seashore village of Satabhaya in Kendrapara district, were shifted to safer cyclone shelters.
Reports from Gopalpur (Ganjam district), which was severely hit by Cyclone Phailin last year, said people were taken to cyclone shelters as the sea turned violently rough.
Twelve National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and 10 Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) units, fire brigade personnel and the local police were evacuating people.
As a precautionary measure, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Saturday cancelled two flights from Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam. “The decision to cancel flights to Visakhapatnam was taken considering the safety of the passengers,” authorities at Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik Airport said.
East Coast Railways, South-Eastern Railways and other railways, meanwhile, cancelled 58 trains and diverted 50 trains for three days beginning Sunday.
In another development, a six-year-old girl drowned and an 11-year-old boy was missing after a boat engaged in evacuations capsized in the Baunsagada river near Satabhaya village, Kendrapara district. The mechanised boat of the forest department, which had a capacity of between 15 and 20 people, was carrying about 25 people, mostly women and children, to a cyclone shelter at Okilapal.
“The collectors of vulnerable districts have started shifting people from vulnerable areas to safe places and cyclone shelters. We are in the process of evacuating about 3.5 lakh people,” said special relief commissioner (SRC) Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra.
Chef secretary G.C. Pati, briefing reporters after a review meeting Saturday evening, said 12 NDRAF and 10 ODRAF teams, each comprising 40 personnel, were deployed for evacuation work while two more NDRAF teams were kept in reserve in Bhubaneswar.
He said five Indian Air Force helicopters were on standby at Kaleikunda, Ganjam district, to assist the NDRAF and ODRAF in relief and rescue operations.
Apprehending heavy rainfall and floods, water between two to five metres was released from major reservoirs like Hirakud, Balimela and Kolab.
“The administrations in vulnerable districts have made arrangements for free kitchen facilities in the cyclone shelters for the evacuated people. The district authorities have also been asked to stock adequate quantities of dry food,” said Mr Mohapatra.
Chief secretary G.C. Pati said the government had engaged public address systems and local community leaders to ensure that all people living in kutcha houses are taken to safer places in the tribal districts.
Revenue divisional (southern division) Bikash Mohapatra said people were being evacuated in some districts after assessing the situation. “Among those being evacuated are tribal people from the Bonda Hills in Malkangiri district,” he said.
There were reports of many parts of coastal Orissa experiencing mild drizzles along with a cool breeze, signalling the approach of Hudhud.
The sea had already turned very rough with huge waves along the Andhra Pradesh coast on Saturday. Many beaches witnessed gigantic tides, where waves could be seen reaching almost close to the beach road in the city. A high-rise retaining wall at Vizag fishing harbour collapsed due to strong waves that were hitting the coast.
Srikakulam and Vizag started witnessing showers from Saturday evening. Sea surges of 15 m to 30 m were witnessed at a few places near S. Rayavaram in Vizag district.
A massive evacuation drive is on by the authorities and until now around 5 lakh people from four coastal districts have been shifted to safety from low lying areas.
Flights to Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata were cancelled on Saturday as heavy gales have already started engulfing Vizag city from Friday night onwards.
A geo tube wall near Uppada coast near Kakinada developed cracks at 12 places due to the fury of sea waves on Saturday. The wall was built three years ago at a cost of Rs 12.1 crore to protect villages like Mayapatnam, Subbampet, Jaggarajupet and Uppada by preventing the villages from sea erosion. The wall survived six cyclones undamaged and protected the villages. However, strong waves on Saturday damaged the geo tube wall.
About 200 fishermen from Hope Island were shifted to Kakinada and are being provided shelter in a high school.
In West Godavari, more than 10,000 people from vulnerable mandals, including Kalla, Mogaltur, Narasapuram, Bhimavaram and Yelamanchali, were shifted to several rehabilitation centres. As many as 139 swimmers and 15 boats are on standby.
Great Danger Signal No. 10 was kept hoisted at Kalingapatnam, Bheemunipatnam, Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram ports. Great Danger Signal No. 8 was kept hoisted at Kakinada and Machilipatnam ports and local cautionary signal No. 3 at Krishnapatnam, Nizampatnam and Vadarevu ports.
A small coastal village, Pudilanka, under Vajrapukotturu Mandal in Srikakulam, has lost communication with the town as the narrow road leading to the village was inundated by surging sea water and a local rivulet, Upputeru. The village is surrounded by the Upputeru on three sides and faces the sea on the eastern side. A total of 62 families are residing in the village.
Police and officials went to the village in a boat Saturday evening to shift them but they refused to shift to relief centres. In many coastal mandals in Srikakulam, too, people were reluctant to shift to relief centres.