Bhubaneswar/Hyderabad: The "very severe" cyclonic storm, "Titli", left eight people dead, besides causing widespread damage in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh Thursday, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) said.
The cyclone threw normal life out of gear as heavy to very heavy rains started lashing the two districts since late Wednesday night. Eight people were killed in different storm-related incidents.
While a 62-year-old woman died at Gudivada Agraharam village after an uprooted tree fell on her, a 55-year-old man died in a house collapse at Rotanasa village in Srikakulam district, the SDMA said.
The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) informed that six fishermen, who had put out to sea, were killed. Of the 67 fishing boats that had ventured into the sea over the last few days from Kakinada in East Godavari district, 65 had returned to the shore safely, the CMO said. Efforts were on to bring back the remaining two boats safely, it added in a release.
The road network suffered extensive damage in Srikakulam district, while the power distribution network was also vastly affected. More than 2,000 electric poles were uprooted by strong winds.
However, the cyclone did not claim any life in Odisha. Incidents of damage were reported from Ganjam and Gajapati districts after making landfall early on Thursday morning.
The cyclone also triggered heavy to very heavy rainfall in Ganjam, Gajapati and Puri districts of Odisha, causing minor damage to power and communication. "There has been no major damage or report of casualty received from any part of the state so far. Some destruction was reported from Ganjam and Gajapati districts," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said.
Power supply and telephone links got disrupted and road communication snapped due to uprooted trees at many places of Gajapati district, the SRC said. Efforts are on to clear roads blocked by uprooted trees and restore power supply in affected areas at the earliest, he said.
In all, eight districts — Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore -- have been affected by "very severe cyclone Titli", he said. Road communication between Paralakhemundi and Mohana and some other block headquarters in Gajapati had been disrupted under the impact of the cyclone, he said.
In Ganjam, reports of damage to hutments and other structures and uprooting of trees were received from some areas, the SRC said. An East Coast Railway (ECoR) official said train services remained suspended between Khurda Road and Vizianagram from both directions since 10 pm on Wednesday.
He said the Palasa station in Andhra Pradesh was damaged and railway officials will reach there shortly. Train services on the route are likely to resume by Thursday night, he added.
According to a latest report by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), cyclone Titli made the landfall between 4.30 and 5.30 am in southwest coast of Gopalpur near Palasa in Andhra Pradesh with an estimated maximum sustained surface wind speed of 140-150 kmph gusting to 165 kmph.
The landfall process was complete and "the centre of eye of cyclone Titli lies over the land," the IMD said. The system is now moving northeastwards towards Gangetic West Bengal across Odisha and it will weaken gradually, it said.
An hour after the landfall, Gopalpur in Odisha reported surface wind at 126 kmph, Kalingapatanam in Andhra Pradesh recorded wind speed of 56 kmph.
Director of Meteorological (MeT) Centre Bhubaneswar H R Biswas said the "very severe cyclonic storm" (VSCS) is being monitored by the coastal Doppler Weather Radars at Visakhapatnam, Gopalpur and Paradip.
Around three lakh people were evacuated in the state along the eastern coast as the very severe cyclonic storm 'Titli' made a landfall. As many as 30 district emergency operation centres were asked to track and respond the very severe cyclonic storm effectively, 300 power boats of special relief organisation were kept ready with crew.
Around three lakh people were evacuated and 879 multi-purpose cyclone and flood shelters were kept in readiness for sheltering the rescued people, a statement by Home Ministry said. Altogether 1,112 relief camps were opened for sheltering the evacuees. A total of 105 pregnant women in Ganjam and 18 in Jgatsinghpur were shifted to hospitals, it said.
All schools and colleges will remain closed till Friday. Thirteen teams, comprising 45 personnel each, of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed in the affected areas.
Several teams of the Odisha Disaster Response Force (ODRF) were deployed in nine districts — Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Khordha, Cuttack, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Boudh and Kalahandi, the statement said. Fire services teams were asked to be on alert to respond at short notice of the district administration, it added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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