Chennai:
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday held a video conference with the district collectors over the impact of Gulab Cyclone and announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of deceased, informed the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, MAUD Y Srilakshmi, Principal Secretary, Revenue (Disaster Management) V Usharani, Principal Secretary, Panchayati Raj Gopalakrishna Dwivedi and other senior officials.
"An ex gratia of Rs 5 lakhs to the families of the deceased and Rs 1,000 should be given to each family while returning home from relief camps," said Reddy.
Cyclone Gulab, which crossed the Bay of Bengal coast near Kalingapatnam on Sunday night, weakened into a depression and caused widespread rains in several districts of Andhra Pradesh on Monday and also left a trail of destruction, as the death toll rose to two with a woman's death.
Port city Visakhapatnam received a 30-year high rainfall of over 33.3 cm in 24 hours under the cyclone's impact and left a woman dead on Monday, taking the toll to two since Sunday.
On Sunday, a fisherman was killed in the cyclonic storm in Bay of Bengal in Srikakulam district.
"The officials should prepare the report on the enumeration of crop damage in a generous manner and provide immediate relief to farmers," said Reddy.
Reddy also ordered the officials to be on high alert as Odisha is also experiencing heavy rains, which could lead to flash floods.
"I request the authorities to move those residing in the riverside areas of Vamsadhara and Nagavali to relief camps and monitor the water levels in the reservoirs," he said. "By the grace of God, the Gulab Cyclone was not as severe as Hudhud or Titli," he added.During the meeting, the Chief Minister instructed the authorities to restore power as soon as the rains subside and suggested to keep monitoring the situation every 30 minutes.
Agricultural and horticultural crops in over 1.63 lakh acres suffered damaged due to the heavy downpour in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna districts, Agriculture Minister K Kanna Babu said while citing preliminary estimates.
The Minister spoke to Joint Collectors of the districts and agriculture department officials through a teleconference and asked them to conduct a detailed enumeration of the crop damages once the floodwater receded.
In Vizianagaram district alone, agricultural crops in 13,122 hectares and horticultural crops in 291 hectares were damaged, according to the Collector A Surya Kumari.
Nine head of cattle also died in the cyclone.
In Visakhapatnam, boulders fell on a house, causing its collapse and killing a woman, district Collector A Mallikarjuna said.
The Collector, along with Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation Commissioner G Srujana, inspected the rain-affected areas in the city and supervised the relief operations.
Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das visited Srikakulam, the district worst affected by Gulab, and reviewed the rescue and relief operations.
The district administration sheltered over 1,500 people in 38 relief camps and provided food.
Tens of houses were damaged in the heavy rain and 15 head of cattle died in the district.
Trees that were uprooted by the cyclone were cleared from the roads on a war-footing while the Eastern Power Distribution Company personnel carried out repair of the damaged power lines.
According to IMD data, rainfall ranging from 60.3 mm to 333 mm was recorded in over 450 places spread over Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna districts in 24 hours.
Guntur and Prakasam districts received up to 7.5 mm rainfall while SPS Nellore and the four Rayalaseema districts received up to 2.4 mm of rain, according to the State Disaster Management Authority.
The sea still remained rough in north coastal Andhra, which could cause moderate to heavy rainfall.=====
According to IMD data, rainfall ranging from 60.3 mm to 333 mm was recorded in over 450 places spread over Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna districts in 24 hours.
Guntur and Prakasam districts received up to 7.5 mm rainfall while SPS Nellore and the four Rayalaseema districts received up to 2.4 mm of rain, according to the State Disaster Management Authority.
No major impact of cyclone Gulab in Odisha: Govt
The Odisha government on Monday said cyclone Gulab did not have much impact on the state following its landfall in neighboring Andhra Pradesh but road connectivity was partially affected due to landslides and uprooting of trees in some places of Gajapati, Koraput, and Malkangiri districts. Special Relief Commissioner P K Jena said administrations of seven cyclone-hit districts – Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, and Nabarangpur – have been asked to submit damage assessment reports in the next five days. The East Coast Railway said 16 trains have been canceled because of waterlogging on tracks in the Visakhapatnam-Vizianagaram-Rayagada section.
Cyclone Gulab made landfall at a place in Andhra Pradesh, about 95 kilometers from Gopalpur in Odisha where a large number of people have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Jena said the state government has so far evacuated 46,075 people, including 1,533 pregnant women, to safe places, where the district administrations have made arrangements to provide dry and cooked food to them.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into west-central and northwest Bay of Bengal and along and off Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Odisha coasts in the next 12 hours, the IMD said in a bulletin on Monday morning.
''The cyclone situation in Odisha remains by and large normal though trees are uprooted and houses damaged in some places,'' the SRC said.
The road between Vijaynagaram in Andhra Pradesh and Sunki in Odisha's Koraput has been disconnected due to a landslide, while trees fell on Lamtaput-Vishakhapatnam road at Kanchana, disrupting communication, he said. Trees were also found uprooted on thoroughfares at Kunduli under Pottangi police station limits, he said, adding that movement of vehicles was also affected in several places of Gajapati district as roads were blocked due to landslides.
Road transport was also disrupted due to the falling of trees at Tarlakota in Malkangiri which witnessed heavy rainfall on Sunday night, while asbestos roofs of several houses were damaged in the Raleguda block, a district official said. Due to overnight downpour, a portion of the National Highway-26 was submerged near the government hospital at Sunki on Monday. A team of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force personnel rushed to the area and evacuated people to a nearby large multi-purpose cooperative society office, Jena said.
The Ganjam district administration has sealed the Soroda-Daringbadi ghat road, anticipating a landslide due to heavy rainfall on Sunday night. Teams of the ODRAF and the National Disaster Response Force have been stationed at the affected places to repair roads and remove uprooted trees, he said.
The Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar said 148 mm rainfall was recorded at Potangi in Koraput by 8.30 am off Monday, followed by Mahendragarh (89.4 mm) and Mohana (77.2 mm) in Gajapati district. The IMD, in its special bulletin issued at 1 pm, said the deep depression over south Odisha and adjoining north Andhra Pradesh moved westwards with a speed of 8 kmph and lay centered at 8.30 am over south Odisha and adjoining south Chhattisgarh.
It is likely to move nearly westwards and weaken into a depression in the next six hours and into a low-pressure area during the subsequent 24 hours.