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North coastal Andhra on high alert in wake of Cyclone Dana
Andhra Pradesh issues high alert as severe cyclonic storm Dana approaches, warning of heavy rains and winds. Fishermen advised to stay ashore.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday sounded a high alert in the north coastal districts in the wake of reports that severe cyclonic storm, Dana, formed in the Bay of Bengal might cross the coast between Odisha and West Bengal in the early hours of Friday.
State disaster management authority managing director Ronanki Kurmanath said at present, the cyclonic storm lay centered in the Bay of Bengal at around 210km away from Paradip in Odisha, was moving at a speed of 12km per hour.
“It is expected to result in heavy gales with a wind speed of 80-100 km per hour, along with heavy rains, in the north coastal Andhra districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and parts of Viskhapatnam,” Kurmanath said, adding that a third warning signal was sounded at Kalingapatnam, Bheemunipatnam, Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram ports.
He asked the fishermen not to venture into the sea and people to stay alert to the extensive damage likely to be caused to the properties.
Srikakulam district collector Swapnil Dinakar Pundkar, in a statement, said all the district officials had been kept on high alert. A control room has been set up in the district collectorate and also in every mandal headquarters to meet any kind of eventuality.
The collector said instructions had been issued to the officials in Sompet, Ichapuram, Kaviti and Kanchili mandals (blocks) to be alert as there is a possibility of these areas receiving extremely heavy rains.
“We have also pressed into service 20 drones to identify the vulnerable spots and alert the authorities in the cyclone-prone areas. Warning has been issued to all people in the villages abutting sea and rivers like Nagavali, Vamsadhara and Bahuda rivers,” the collector added.
