Cyclone Titli: Relief operations begin in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha after storm wreaks havoc
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has constituted a three-member ministerial committee to visit the districts of Gajapati and Rayagada.
Relief operations began in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district on Friday morning, a day after Cyclone Titli wreaked havoc, The Hindu reported. The National Disaster Management Authority said seven people have died in the state. One person died in West Bengal and three in Odisha, PTI reported.
The storm has now weakened and is moving northeastwards towards Gangetic West Bengal across Odisha. The India Meteorological Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rain in parts of Odisha, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Gangetic West Bengal over the next two days.
Miliapttu, Srinivaspuram, Punch Padu, Mukundapuram, Gopalapuram and M Gangaipadu villages of Srikakulam were affected the most in Andhra Pradesh.
According to the state emergency control room, around 2,050 people have been rescued from the affected areas, and 15 relief camps have been set up. The National Disaster Response Force has deployed seven teams while the State Disaster Response Force has pressed into service six more.
Power supply was restored in Srikakulam town, but many places like Kaviti, Palasa, Kanchili are still facing outages as more than 6,500 electric poles have been uprooted. At least 16 rural water supply systems have also been damaged, affecting supply to several villages in Andhra Pradesh.
In Odisha, Ganjam district in the southern part of the state is the worst-affected. The cyclone made landfall in the district’s Gopalpur area on Thursday morning. An eight-year-old boy drowned in a canal in the district. Apart from Ganjam, the government on Friday deployed rescue personnel to speed up relief operations mainly in the districts of Gajapati and Rayagada.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik instructed the collectors of the three districts to intensify rescue and relief operations on a war footing, PTI reported. He stressed on quickly repairing breaches in several river embankments and asked the district collectors to provide cooked food to people in relief camps, the official said. Patnaik also constituted a three-member ministerial committee to visit the districts to monitor rescue and relief operation.
The flood situation in these districts is grim as the water levels in major rivers such as Rushikulya and Bansadhara have crossed their danger marks, official sources said.
The Indian Coast Guard deployed its team in Aksa town of Ganjam, according to The Indian Express. Udaygiri of Odisha’s Kandhamal district recorded the maximum rainfall of 351 mm, said Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi.
Both Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are staring at a possible flood situation with rivers and streams swollen from the rain, the Hindustan Times reported.