In the country’s biggest evacuation ever, about 5.5 lakh people from the coastal districts of Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh were shifted to safer places as the ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ Phailin barrelled on Gopalpur.
Gale force winds and heavy rain from the system, which is almost half India’s size, sent the coastal districts of Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur in Odisha and Srikakulam in Andhra reeling. With electric poles uprooted or bent, power supply was disrupted in the region and towns and cities in these districts were plunged in darkness..
Phailin is the severest storm to hit the east coast after the 1999 super cyclone that wreaked havoc on Odisha, claiming over 9,000 lives.
“Our main focus is to avoid loss of human life. So far, we have evacuated 4.25 lakh people in Odisha and 1 lakh more in Andhra Pradesh,” Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami told reporters in Delhi.
Phailin also caused sea surges with waves up to 3.5 metres reaching deep inland.
Rescue operations
Over 500 relief centres have been opened in Odisha and steps have been taken to ensure food, water and medicine to meet the requirements of those displaced. Besides the Army and the Air Force, the National Disaster Management Authority has deployed over 28 teams in Odisha and 15 in Andhra Pradesh.
The India Meteorological Department said the impact of the cyclone may be felt even up to 48 hours after landfall when all of Odisha, northern Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal will receive heavy rain.
Trains cancelled
The East Coast Railways had cancelled all trains on Saturday and Sunday. The Crisis Management Group of East Coast Railway has stationed emergency teams , with men and materials at 25 stations considered at risk.
Other zonal railways have either cancelled or diverted trains that were supposed to go through Odisha. The Railway is updating information on its Web site, apart from opening helpline booths and extra fare refund counters.
Flights, ports hit
On Saturday, airlines cancelled flights to Bhubaneswar and Visakhapatnam. A spokesman for the Airports Authority of India, which manages the Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar airports, said though both the airports were open, there were no operations.
“At the Bhubaneswar airport, a navigational aid has been switched off but can be turned on at a few minutes’ notice to allow operations in case any airline seeks to fly,” the spokesman added.
Pilots told Business Line that they had been told to expect “deviation in route and delays in flights” while operating in that area. Flights in the area are carrying additional fuel to meet any contingency, a pilot added.
Paradip and Dhamra ports suspended operations.
G. V. L. Satya Kumar, Deputy Chairman of Visakhapatnam port, said 24 ships were instructed to move away from the coastline; vessels berthed in the inner harbour were left undisturbed.
Trucks are bypassing coastal Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, said S. P. Singh, Senior Fellow at the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training.
In Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy convened a meeting with senior officials late in the evening to take stock of the situation and speed up relief measures.
Stressful period
It is a stressful period for officials as well as those living perilously close to the sea in areas such as Vasavanipalem, Jalari Endada and Pedajalaripeta in Visakhapatnam. Officials were busy evacuating people from low-lying, vulnerable areas to relief camps set up in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation schools or community halls in the vicinity.
P. Srirama Murthy, an official in charge of a relief camp, said 1,000 people had been evacuated so far in the area and it may rise to 2,000.
Puja festivities
A cloudy Saturday and the occasional rains dampened Durga Puja festivities that are reaching their high-point in Kolkata.
(With inputs from our Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata bureaus.)