At Visakhapatnam, hours before the cyclone makes landfall. (Photo: Associated Press)
Cyclone Hudhud has hit at Kailashgiri in Visakhapatnam. The worst phase of the cyclone begins now, says the Indian Navy.
Here are the latest developments:
Rear Admiral SK Grewal of the Navy said that though the eye of the storm was still 20 km away from Vizag, "You can say it is making landfall now." The Indian Meteorological department however said it would record landfall when the eye of the storm hit coast.
Met department officials explained that a cyclone has two spirals - the outermost spiral that has just crossed land and brought with it the fierce winds and rain and the eye, 30 km in diameter in Cyclone Hudhud.
More than three lakh people have been evacuated from near the coast from five Andhra Pradesh districts. Visibility this morning in Visakhapatnam is less than 500 metres. Trees uprooted by the wind and rain have blocked roads. Several trains have been canceled and air services have been suspended.
Some districts in neighbouring Odisha too are bracing for the cyclone to hit. At the time of landfall, wind speed in Odisha's coastal districts like Ganjam, Gajapati and Raygada is likely to be about 80 to 100 kmph. It is raining heavily in Ganjam. About 46,000 people have been evacuated in Odisha, where flooding because of rain is the biggest worry.
Teams of the Army and Navy are on the highest alert for rescue and relief operations. 17 Coast Guard Ships, nine aircraft, 44 teams of the National Disaster Response Force or NDRF with over 2,000 rescuers have been deployed.
Electricity supply has been cut since morning as a precaution in Visakhapatnam. The rain and wind that the cyclone will bring are expected to damage power and telecom lines. In both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, satellite phones have been requisitioned from the Centre.
The Met department has said that after landfall, the cyclone will "maintain the intensity of a very severe cyclonic storm for six hours and gradually weaken into a cyclonic storm in the subsequent six hours".
It has said that a storm surge of about 1-2 metres above the astronomical tide could inundate low lying areas of Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam districts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh at the time of landfall.
The NDRF is airlifting a number of large metal and wood cutters from New Delhi to Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and has increased the strength of its relief teams on standby from 39 to 44. The saw-cutters will be used to tear up big trees and other metal objects likely to be uprooted and scattered by the gusty and ferocious winds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an emergency high-level meeting on Saturday to review preparedness for the cyclone and asked officials to work with the state governments to ensure "zero casualty". The Ministry of Home Affairs has also launched a 24-hour helpline for cyclone-related information. The numbers are - 011-23093563, 23093566; Odisha-1948, Andhra Pradesh-1949.
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