Cyclone ‘Titli’: 8 killed in Andhra's Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram
Bhubaneswar, Oct 11: The severe cyclonic storm Titli has made its landfall near Odisha's Gopalpur. The state government has leaving no stone unturned to ensure minimal casualties that the storm may cause.
8 people have died in Srikakulam and Vijayanagaram districts due to Cyclone Titli. Power supply and communication systems are affected in both districts. Coastal villages are cut off from the mainland as the roads are damaged.
Gajapati district most affected with road communication cut off from district headquarter town of Paralakhemundi. Other affected districts are Ganjam, Balasore, Kendrapara and Khurda. No casualty reported so far: Special Relief Commissioner, Odisha.
Two people have been killed in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam as cyclone Titli uprooted trees and electric poles and damaged hutments in the region and in Odisha's Ganjam and Gajapati districts after making landfall this morning.
Meanwhile, a fishing boat with 5 fishermen onboard capsized in Gopalpur owing to severe cyclonic storm, however, one of the three disaster & rescue teams operating in Gopalpur Paradip area rescued all five fishermen & brought them to safety.
The coastal districts of Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur in Odisha are expected to be in the eye of the storm and have been put on red alert.
Fourteen NDRF teams have been deployed in Odisha's Balasore, Sambhalpur, Gajapati, Nayagarh, Puri, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam and Bhubaneswar while 4 NDRF teams have been deployed in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam, Srikakulum and Vijaynagram. Around 3 lakh people have been evacuated till now.
Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) to take stock of preparatory measures in the wake of impending landfall.
The cyclone will bring along with it very heavy rain, which could lead to flooding. Around 300 motor boats are on stand-by in Odisha for rescue efforts.
#CycloneTitli. 08 #CoastGuard Ships including Interceptor Boats deployed by Eastern Seaboard have guided/shepherd more than 215 fishing boats to safety that were operating in Bay of Bengal.@IndiaCoastGuard Aircraft continue to scan sea for strayed boat if any @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/Iu1CmdTR0f
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) October 10, 2018
After the landfall, the cyclonic storm is likely to maintain the intensity throughout Thursday while moving northeastwards across Odisha. In view of cyclonic storm Titli gaining strength, the fishermen have been advised not to venture into west-central and north Bay of Bengal.
Those, who are out in deep sea areas have been advised to return to the coast immediately, officials said. The severe cyclonic storm intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm and will cross between Gopalpur (Odisha) and Kalingapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) Thursday morning, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said, quoting a bulletin of the India Meteorological Department.
[Cyclone Titli: Schools, colleges to remain closed on Oct 11 & 12]
There may be damage in the districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, and Srikakulam of Andhra Pradesh and Gajapati, Ganjam, Khurda, Nayagarh, and Puri districts of Odisha, the NDMA said. After the landfall, the very severe cyclonic storm is most likely to maintain the intensity of cyclone. As a result, the gale wind speed of 60-90 kmph is very likely to prevail over interior districts adjacent to south coastal Odisha and wind speed of 60-70 km per hour over the interior districts adjacent to north coastal Odisha on Thursday, it said.
['Titli' turns into very severe cyclonic storm, to make landfall tomorrow]
The cyclonic storm is being monitored by the coastal doppler weather radars at Visakhapatnam, Gopalpur and Paradip, the NDMA said. The latest observations indicate that the cyclone hover over the west central Bay of Bengal and then will move northwestwards.
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