File pic: A young fisherman runs past his boats after a cyclone alert in 2010
Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are prepping for the possibility of a major cyclone that could hit on Saturday evening.
A cyclonic storm hit the Andaman and Nicobar islands today and is expected to reach the coast of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha over the next 48-72 hours, the MeT department said.
In Odisha, officials of 14 coastal districts have been asked to ensure emergency plans and assistance are ready.
But in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, thousands of government employees are on strike, protesting against the Centre's decision to carve out the region of Telangana as its own state. The coastal regions of Seemandhra have been in shutdown mode since Friday, since the Union Cabinet green-lit the process to divide the state.
Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy met with ministers and senior administrative officials to review their arrangements. A government statement said Mr Reddy has asked for helicopters, boats and coast guard services to be ready to evacuate people He has also asked officials handling power to draft exigency plans.
Several parts of the regions of Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra have been grappling with blackouts because thousands of government employees at power plants are on strike against the bifurcation of the state. The latest in a string of talks between their unions and the chief minister today did not deliver a breakthrough.
"We are monitoring the situation. As the cyclone gets closer, we will issue fresh alerts," said Odisha's special relief commissioner Pradeep Kumar Mohapatra.
The state has also written to the central government requesting them to keep choppers ready, he said.
The depression has formed over the north Andaman Sea and was centred about 1250 km east-southeast of Paradip in Odisha, and 1200 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
The system would intensify into a deep depression and further into a cyclonic storm, the official said to news agency IANS.