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Cyclone Gulab: Heavy rains batter Andhra Pradesh, red alert in 14 Telangana districts
Hyderabad Heavy rains battered Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, after cyclonic storm ‘Gulab’ made a landfall between and north coastal parts of the state and south Odisha around midnight on Sunday
Hyderabad
Heavy rains battered Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, after cyclonic storm ‘Gulab’ made a landfall between and north coastal parts of the state and south Odisha around midnight on Sunday.
Neighbouring Telangana, too, witnessed moderate to heavy rains in several parts as the cyclonic storm, which weakened into deep depression, moved towards northern Telangana and Chhattisgarh in the last 12 hours.
Hyderabad meteorological department director Dr K Nagaratna said red alert had been sounded in 14 districts in North Telangana, which are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rains in the next 24 hours.
The Telangana government asked the administrative machineries in Nirmal, Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Jagitial, Rajanna Siricilla, Siddipet, Peddapalli, Karimnagar, Jangaon, Warangal, Hanamkonda, Mahabubabad, Khammam and Bhadradri Kothagudem districts to gear up for any eventualities.
Srikakulam district collector Shrikesh B Lathkar said there were reports of six fishermen, all belonging to Manchineelapeta village of Vazrapu Kothuru block, missing in the sea at the time of the Cyclone Gulab making the landfall. “However, five of them managed to swim ashore and another person is feared drowned in the sea,” he said.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who held a virtual meeting with district collectors and other officials over the impact of Cyclone Gulab, directed them to expedite relief measures in affected areas.
He announced an ex gratia of ₹5 lakh to the families of the deceased, if any, during the cyclone, besides ₹1,000 to each affected family when they return from relief camps.
Andhra Pradesh chief secretary Adityanath Das, who had been monitoring the situation from Visakhapatnam, told the chief minister that heavy gales at a speed of 80-90 km per hour caused extensive damage at several places in the north coastal parts of the state. There were reports of uprooting of trees and electric poles, but steps were taken to clear them immediately, the chief secretary said.
He added that thousands of people from the affected areas were evacuated to safer areas. Relief measures are in full swing in Visakhapatnam city, which witnessed heavy waterlogging in several areas, including the roads leading to the airport. There was no disruption of flight services from Visakhapatnam, airport authorities confirmed.
Several trains passing through north-coastal Andhra districts were cancelled in the last 24 hours, while some trains were running late. The Yeshwanthapur-Howrah Special Express was running five hours behind the schedule, besides Visakhapatnam-Guntur special train, Visakhapatnam-Hazrath Nizamuddin and Chennai Central-Howrah Express were also been three to eight hours behind schedule, according to East Coast Railway authorities.
The Andhra CM instructed the authorities to restore power as soon as the rains subside and suggested to keep monitoring the situation every 30 minutes. He asked them to ensure adequate food and water, besides proper medical care to the people in the relief camps, people aware of the details said.
Reddy also asked the officials to prepare the report on the enumeration of crop damage in a generous manner and provide immediate relief to farmers. The CM also ordered the authorities to move the people residing in the villages close to Vamsadhara and Nagavali rivers to the relief camps, as these two rivers are expected to receive flash floods due to heavy rains in Odisha, the people added.
State disaster management commissioner K Kanna Babu said the Bay of Bengal continued to be turbulent due to cyclonic storm. He appealed to fishermen not to venture into the sea till Tuesday evening while asking the people of north-coastal Andhra not to come out of their houses.
The Srikakulam district collector said there was a heavy impact of Cyclone Gulab in Santha Bommali and Vazrapu Kothuru blocks. “Electricity supply in entire Srikakulam district was affected due to uprooting of electric poles and damaging of power distribution network. Instructions have been issued to all the departments to take up restoration works. Teams of national and state disaster response forces are working round the clock to take up rescue operations,” the collector said.
Rehabilitation centres were set up in 30 places in Srikakulam district and around 1,500 people were shifted to safer places. The district collectorate has set up a control room and issued toll free number, 08942240557, for those affected.
Vizianagaram district witnessed heavy rains since Sunday night, with Gazapathinagaram block receiving the highest rainfall of 20 cm in the last 12 hours, followed by Pusapatirega (19 cm), Nellimarla (14 cm), Garividi (12 cm), Kothavalasa (11 cm) and Saluru (10 cm), officials said.
Meanwhile, in Telangana, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao reviewed the rain situation in the state with chief secretary Somesh Kumar and other higher officials. He asked the authorities to ensure that all measures are taken to prevent loss of life and property.
The chief secretary said services of NDRF teams in Hyderabad, Kottagudem and Warangal will be sought for rescue operations in the event of any such requirement. A separate control room will be set up in each district collectorate and information regarding the same will be provided to the control room set up in the secretariat, Kumar said.
He added that the situation should be reviewed by appointing special officers at affected areas such as inland areas, ponds, ditches and bridges.
