Hudhud inches closer to Vizag

The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday sought the help of Coast Guard, marine police and Navy to assist the revenue staff in mitigating the impact of the severe cyclonic storm Hudhud which is expected to cross the north AP coast near Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

Seven National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been kept on standby in Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam district headquarters.

According to the Met office, Hudhud over west central Bay of Bengal is about 500 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam and 550 km south-southeast of Gopalpur in Odisha.
The storm is expected to move west-northwestwards, intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm during next 12 hours.

The forecast is that it would cross north Andhra Pradesh coast around Visakhapatnam by forenoon on Sunday.

Under the influence of the storm, heavy to very heavy rain would occur over west and east Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts of north AP and Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, Kalahandi, Phulbani districts of south Odisha, commencing from Saturday. Rainfall is also expected in isolated places in Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts of AP.

Squally wind speed reaching 50-60 kmph and gusting to 70 kmph would commence along and off north AP and south Odisha coasts from Saturday. Already the sea has become rough in Pusapatirega mandal of Vizianagaram district where the waves have reached a height of four metres.

While in Visakhapatnam the sea has backed off several metres as a precursor to a massive surge, storm surge of about 1-2 metres are expected to inundate low lying areas of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh at the time of landfall.

In all 50 villages in ten mandals of Visakhapatnam, 78 villages in 13 mandals of Srikakulam, six mandals in Krishna and two mandals in Vizianagaram districts have been identified as very sensitive and special officers have been appointed to initiate relief and rescue operations whenever the need arises.

Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Corporation (APEPDCL) that has jurisdiction over the northern coastal districts has already instructed its officers to brace themselves for possible uprooting of electrical poles and disruption of power lines.

Travel advisory

Change in train services are likely over the next three days in the interest of passenger safety.

The train services scheduled on/via Secunderabad – Kazipet – Vijayawada – Visakhapatnam and Tirupati – Gudur – Vijayawada – Samalkot/Kakinada – Visakhapatnam sections of South Central Railway are likely to be affected from October 11 to 13.

The local passenger/express trains running within this area are likely to be fully/partially cancelled/regulated as required.

The long distance express trains running between the southern part of the country and eastern parts through Vijayawada – Visakhapatnam – Bhubaneswar route are likely to be regulated/diverted to suitable alternate routes like Renigunta/Guntakal and Vijayawada/Kazipet/ Balharshah etc.

South Central Railway has requested passengers to plan their rail journeys and check with railway authorities about the running of trains before undertaking their journey.