Hyderabad: More than 1.5 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas of five coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh which are expected to be hit by a rainfall of up to 45 cm in the next two days under the impact of very severe cyclonic storm 'Hudhud' that is due to have a landfall near Visakhapatnam by Sunday afternoon.
The people were evacuated from vulnerable areas in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and West Godavari districts to safer places by this evening even as NDRF and Armed Forces teams, along with the state government machinery, are ready to carry out further evacuation as 'Hudhud' nears its landfall.
Visakhapatnam district is expected to bear the brunt with rainfall ranging from 400 mm to 450 mm, according to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. "Apart from Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and East Godavari districts will also receive very heavy rainfall under the impact of Hudhud," Naidu said on Saturday after a video-conference with Collectors of the coastal districts with whom he reviewed the preparedness and ongoing rescue operations.
"We are monitoring the situation on a real-time basis using satellite imagery, remote sensing and space technology. This is the first time we are using technology in a big way to assess the situation and take all steps to prevent loss of life (human and cattle) and ensure minimal damage to properties, if any. We are also using 'crowd-sourcing' in rescue and relief operations," Naidu said.
Naidu also appealed to people in cyclone-prone areas to help government with the images of destruction. "I request the people in cyclone-prone areas to help us with images of destruction, if any, so that it will be useful for the administration to collect real-time data. We will acknowledge the data obtained from people through crowd-sourcing and recognise them," the chief minister said. He said the Centre was also closely monitoring the situation.
"I spoke to the Union Cabinet Secretary and also ISRO Chairman Radhakrishnan," Naidu added. "We are sharing all information and taking every step for the safety of people in the cyclone-prone districts," the chief minister said.
In all, the government has identified that 5,14,725 people from 436 cyclone-prone villages in the five coastal districts for evacuation to safer places and cyclone shelters. The government is also opening 370 relief camps for the evacuees where all arrangements for food and drinking water are being made, according to Disaster Management Department officials monitoring the situation from Hyderabad.
Disaster Management Commissioner AR Sukumar has also held a video-conference with the coastal district authorities while Officer-on-Special-Duty Aravind Kumar is overseeing the operations camping in Visakhapatnam.
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