The AP Government is making all arrangements and taking precautionary measures to minimise loss of life and property due to the impact of very severe cyclonic storm Hud Hud predicted to cross the coast on Sunday, OSD Relief Aravind Kumar said here on Friday. It is predicted that the cyclone may cross the coast in Andhra Pradesh this year, probably in the vicinity of Visakhapatnam. Last year, around the same time, cyclone Phailin crossed the coast near Gopalpur in Odisha.
The cyclone is likely to be very severe and district administration has declared a holiday for all schools and educational institutions on Saturday and for all establishments and industries from second shift, he said, after a review meeting with district administration, police, Navy and others.
He said one of the major challenges was persuading people living in low-lying areas to leave their homes and shift into shelters during the cyclone. "Most persons resist as they are not assured of protection of their goods which they would leave back home, it is the responsibility of the district administration and police to give them the assurance," he said.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are being positioned in advance at vulnerable places to instil confidence among the residents. "Each NDRF team comprises 45 persons and it can be broken into three teams, which means that we have 33 teams available for deployment along the coast," Aravind Kumar said.
S.S Guleria, the DIG of the NDRF, said 20 teams were in Odisha and, depending on the course of the cyclone and the necessity, some of them may be brought to AP coast. At present, the NDRF teams were in readiness for deployment from Srikakulam to Kakinada and they would take all steps to minimise loss of lives, rescue people and also save cattle and other animals.
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