More than two lakh people around the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have been evacuated to safer places, keeping the ‘Hudhud’ cyclone in mind, which will hit the coast on October 12, 2014.
With swirling winds expected to be as much as 195 mph, the cyclone, in all probability, is expected to make a landfall near Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Keeping the weather in mind, a total of 1.11 lakh people in the state of Odisha have been shifted, while the Andhra government has arranged for the evacuation of 5,14,725 people.
A total of 39 trains have been canceled in Odisha alone.
“The collectors of eight districts – Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi and Kandhamal have been on the job to shift people from vulnerable areas to safe places,” Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra has been quoted in a post on Zee News.
Named as “Hud Hud”, the cyclone is expected to have a top speed of 195 kmph early on Sunday, the Indian Meteorological Department has said. Early in the morning on October 12, the speed of the cyclone will be at 170-180 kmph.
The National Crisis Management Committee has been on the agenda of preparation with the various agencies of the two states and center.
The cyclone is likely to bring heavy to very heavy rainfall in places like Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Kalahandi, Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Phulbani districts in both states.
Rains have already started in many parts of southern India, although no damages have been reported so far. Many parts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are likely to get heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours.
Malkangiri is likely to bear the maximum wrath, and heavy rainfall and winds have already been reported.
