Bheemili in the eye of Hudhud storm

Visakhapatnam/Srikakulam/Rajahmundry/Kakinada: As Cyclone Hudhud, barrelled towards East Coast, around 1,00,000 people have been shifted to safety from low-lying areas.

Several flights from Visakhapatnam have been cancelled on Saturday and Sunday. Restrictions were imposed on vehicular movement along 350 km on National Highway 16 from Itchapuram in Srikakulam to Payakaraopeta in Vizag district from Saturday evening.

No vehicle will be allowed on NH 16, barring emergency cyclone relief vehicles and ambulances. APSRTC has cancelled as many as 45 long-distance buses. The severe cyclone was 200 km southeast off Vizag coast on Saturday evening. IMD officials said there has been no change in Hudhud’s track and it was steadily heading towards Vizag.

The cyclonic storm is expected to cross the coast close to Vizag city around Bheemili by Sunday at around noon and the storm would gain its highest speed of 195 kmph before landfall. IMD on Saturday night has issued a Red Message that stands for ‘High Alert’ on the impending storm.

The US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre has already predicted wind speeds of 194 kmph gusting to 240 kmph in its update. INCOIS warned in its Bulletin 19 on Saturday that the expected wind speed at the time of landfall would be 180 kmph.

IMD predicted that Vizag, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and East Godavari would receive around 24.5 cm rainfall for the next 48 hours. The sea condition has already turned very rough with huge waves along the coast on Saturday. Many beaches have witnessed gigantic tides, where waves could be seen reaching almost close to the beach road in the city. A high-rise retaining wall at Vizag fishing harbour has collapsed due to strong waves that were hitting the coast.

INCOIS cautioned Pedanagayyapalem in Vizianagaram district with expected sea surge of 400 metres during the time, Rushikonda Beach with 240 m, Chintapalli in Srikakulam with 230 m and Atchanna Agraharam in Srikakulam with 240 m.

Srikakulam and Vizag started witnessing showers from Saturday evening. Sea surge of 15 m to 30 m has been witnessed at a few places near S. Rayavaram in Vizag district. A massive evacuation drive is on by the authorities and until now around 5 lakh people from four coastal districts have been shifted to safety from low lying areas.

Flights to Bhubaneswar, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata have been cancelled on Saturday as heavy gales have already started engulfing Vizag city from Friday night onwards. A geo tube wall near Uppada coast near Kakinada developed cracks at 12 places due to the fury of sea waves on Saturday. The wall was built three years ago at a cost of Rs 12.1 crore, with a distance of 1.6 km to protect villages like Mayapatnam, Subbampet, Jaggarajupet and Uppada by preventing the villages from sea erosion.

After the completion of construction of the wall six cyclones hit the coast, but the wall was not damaged and protected the villages. However, strong waves on Saturday have damaged the geo tube wall.

About 200 fishermen from Hope Island were shifted to Kakinada and are being provided shelter in a high school.

In West Godavari, more than 10,000 people from vulnerable mandals including Kalla, Mogaltur, Narasapuram, Bhimavaram and Yelamanchali were shifted to several rehabilitation centres. As many as 139 swimmers and 15 boats are kept ready.

Great Danger Signal number-10 was kept hoisted at Kalingapatnam, Bheemunipatnam, Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram ports. Great Danger Signal No. 8 was kept hoisted at Kakinada and Machilipatnam ports and local cautionary signal number-3 at Krishnapatnam, Nizampatnam and Vadarevu ports.

A small coastal village, Pudilanka under Vajrapukotturu Mandal in Srikakulam has lost communication with the town as the narrow road leading to the village was inundated by surging sea water and local rivulet, Upputeru.

The village is surrounded by the Upputeru on three sides and covered by the sea on the eastern side. A total of 62 families are residing in the village. Police and officials went to the village in a boat in the evening to shift them but they refused to shift to relief centres. In many coastal mandals in Srikakulam too people were reluctant to shift to relief centres.