Cyclone Phethai: Low-lying areas in many Andhra Pradesh districts could be flooded (Representational)
With Cyclone Phethai set to intensify and expected to strike Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada by noon on Monday, the state government scrambled to minimise the damage from the third such cyclone to hit the state this year. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu asked for precautionary measures to be taken to avoid damage to life and property. An alert has also been sounded in all of Andhra's nine coastal districts, with the national and state disaster response forces being kept on standby. The Indian Navy and coast guard have been called in to help as intensifying wind speeds of 100 kilometres per hour will likely make rescue efforts more challenging.
Here is your 10-point guide to Cyclone Phethai:
The Andhra Pradesh government in a press release said officials should prepare for restoring power supply in the state after the landfall as the government had struggled to erect electric poles after Cyclone Titli.
Officials should concentrate on ensuring proper supply of drinking water and procure food supply during the cyclone. Mr Naidu said farmers should protect their paddy in advance and asked officials to extend assistance to farmers in protecting their paddy from rain.
The Andhra Pradesh government has also launched the 'People First Citizen Mobile Application' so citizens can report damage caused by the cyclone. The Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) will take action based on the reports made on the app.
Low-lying areas in Andhra Pradesh districts of Vishakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur along with Yanam disctrict in Puducherry, could experience flooding due to the cyclone, according to news agency IANS.
In a press release, the Indian Navy, through the Eastern Naval Command, has for the past two days flown 11 sorties across the eastern coast and broadcast warnings to fishermen to stay away from the coastline. "Diving teams with inflatable Gemini boats and associated diving equipment have been kept standby for immediate deployment for relief and rescue operations," the Indian Navy said.
Naval aircraft are also on standby to aid in rescue and relief operations from the two naval air stations INS Dega and INS Rajali located in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu respectively.
Indian Coast Guard has also readied efforts to brave the pending cyclone. The coast guard tweeted a video, saying over 700 stranded people, with many tourists among them, were rescued early morning today from the South Andaman Islands of Havelock and Neil, amid choppy waters and intensifying cyclonic weather conditions.
As of now, Cyclone Phethai is around 690 kilometres south east of the Andhra coastline. The cyclone could make landfall between Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada and Machilipatnam, around 190 km apart. While the Navy said in a tweet that the cyclone could hit by noon Monday, it could make landfall as early as within the next six hours, according to news agency ANI.
The cyclonic storm, which is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm, would move north-north westwards and cross Andhra Pradesh coast between Ongole and Kakinada during Monday afternoon, the weather department said, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
The districts in Odisha that are likely to see heavy rainfall today are: Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nuapada, Baragarh, Balangir, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Gajapati and Ganjam, news agency PTI reported.
(With Inputs From Agencies)
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