Sandy kills 85 in US; Infosys, TCS, Wipro alert employees

Bangalore, Oct 30: Superstorm

created a havoc in the

killing at least 85 people so far on Tuesday, Oct 30. Sandy hurled a record-breaking 13-foot surge of seawater at New York City, knocking out power to an estimated 5.2 million people.

US President Barack Obama declared that Hurricane Sandy triggered a "major disaster" and cancelled his election campaign rallies. Citing the horrible situation of the states, Indian IT giants such as Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL have issued special advisories for its employees working in US.

In an official statement, Infosys said, "As superstorm Sandy makes its landfall on the Eastern Coast of the United States, Infosys has undertaken requisite precautionary measures for the safety of our employees and continuity of business for our clients.

We have been in touch with our employees and their families to ensure they have available with them requisite information on what they should do in case of an emergency. Additionally we are restricting business travel to the region for the next few days. A few of our offices in the affected areas have been closed as a precautionary measure.

We are also taking necessary measures to provide remote assistance to our clients to support potential production issues in the event of power outages."

Ajim Premji led Wipro also issued statement saying, "We have already sent a Mailer to our employees based in the US, encouraging them to stay indoors and comply with guidance issued by local US authorities, who are best positioned to advise on the situation. We have also sent out a travel advisory for employees travelling to and within the US, advising them to postpone travel, especially the North Eastern parts. Wipro is continuously monitoring the situation and has put in place necessary business continuity measures."

Meanwhile, TCS spokesperson was quoted as saying, "All our associates have been advised to stay safe & stay indoors. Owing to our strong business continuity plan customer processes are not expected to be disrupted."

The storm has caused flooding and massive power outages in 11 states. Winds are ranging up to 75 miles per hour, enough to cause major destruction. In New Jersey, reports said that there has been over 11 inches of rainfall and in several states there is possibility of snowstorms. A power plant explosion has led to some of the electricity cuts in Lower Manhattan. This has slowed down evacuation at a New York hospital.

OneIndia News