Andhra, Odisha on high alert as cyclone may hit coasts on Saturday morning; East Coast Railway cancels 95 trains, West Bengal under alert.
A low-pressure area over the southeast Bay of Bengal has concentrated into a depression and is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm and reach Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coasts on Saturday morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its latest bulletin and also touch West Bengal.
Anticipating a massive cyclone, the East Coast Railway has canceled the operation of 95 trains for three days from Thursday. As a precautionary measure for the safety of passengers, 95 mail and express trains originating from different places and passing through the region have been canceled from December 2-4, an ECoR statement said.
The Odisha government had asked collectors of 13 districts to prepare for the evacuation of the people and has chalked out a disaster management strategy by requisitioning NDRF, ODRAF, and fire department personnel for rescue and relief operations.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on cyclone-related preparation. He directed officials to take every possible measure to ensure that people are safely evacuated. A red alert has been issued in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha for Dec 4 (Saturday) in view of the cyclone.
The PM further instructed them to ensure adequate storage of essential medicines and supplies and to plan for unhindered movement, besides 24×27 functioning of control rooms, added the statement. It said, The “India Meteorological Department (IMD) has informed that low-pressure region in the Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into Cyclone Jawad and reach the coast of North Andhra Pradesh-Odisha around Saturday morning, with the wind speed ranging up to 100 kmph.
The cycle is likely to cause torrential rainfall in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal. IMD has been issuing regular bulletins with the latest forecast to all the concerned states.” The Cabinet Secretary has reviewed the situation and preparedness with Chief Secretaries of all the coastal states and Central Ministries/ Agencies concerned, the PMO said. “The Ministry of Home Affairs is reviewing the situation 24×27 and is in touch with the State Governments/ UTs and the Central Agencies concerned. MHA has already released the first installment of SDRF in advance to all states. NDRF has pre-positioned 29 teams, which are equipped with boats, tree-cutters and telecom equipment in the states and has kept 33 teams on standby,” it added.
The PMO said, “The Indian Coast Guard and the Navy have deployed ships and helicopters for relief, search and rescue operations. Air Force and Engineer task force units of the Army, with boats and rescue equipment, are on standby for deployment. Surveillance aircraft and helicopters are carrying out aerial surveillance along the coast. Disaster Relief teams and Medical Teams are on standby at locations along the eastern coast.
“The Ministry of Power has initiated emergency response systems and is keeping in readiness transformers, DG sets and equipment for immediate restoration of electricity. The Ministry of Communication is keeping all the telecom towers and exchanges under constant watch and is fully geared to restore telecom networks. “The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an advisory to the States/ UTs, likely to be affected, for health sector preparedness and response to Covid-19 in affected areas,” it added.
The Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways has taken measures to secure all shipping vessels and deployed emergency vessels, it said, adding that the states have also been asked to alert the industrial establishments, such as chemical and petrochemical units near the coast. NDRF is assisting the state agencies in their preparedness for evacuating people from the vulnerable locations and also continuously holding community awareness campaigns on how to deal with the cyclonic situation, said the statement, adding that the Principal Secretary to the PM, the Cabinet Secretary, the Home Secretary, the NDRF DG and the IMD DG attended the meeting.