Cyclone claims 21 lives in Andhra, relief work begins

Visakhapatnam Cyclonic storm Hudhud claimed 21 lives affected six lakh people and damaged over 6000 houses in north coastal Andhra as the extent of destruction caused by it Sunday unfolded a day later Relief operations began Monday on war footingVisakhapatnam the largest city in the state which bore the brunt of the fury remained without electricity communication and drinking water as almost the entire physical infrastructure collapsed due to the cycloneThe storm which hit the coast near the port city Sunday with heavy rains wind speed of 185 kmph left a trail of destruction unseen and unheard by its nearly 18 lakh populationPrime Minister Narendra Modi will make an aerial survey of cycloneaffected areas TuesdayTerming the devastation as unprecedented Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu sought Rs2000 crore as interim relief from the central government He also appealed to Modi to declare this as a national calamityViskhapatnam district accounted for 15 deaths Five people were killed in Vijayanagarm while one person died in Srikakulam district Officials said most deaths occurred due to falling treesParkala Prabhakar advisor communications to the state government told reporters in Hyderabad Monday evening that 6638 houses were damaged in three north coastal districts and adjoining East GodavariHe said railway tracks and roads were damaged at 109 placesWhile Visakhapatnam and Vijayanagaram districts suffered extensive damage Srikakulam district faces threat of floods due to heavy inflows in the rivers and breach of several tanksThe hurricane knocked down hundreds of trees electricity poles and communication towers in the regionThe extent of devastation in Visakhapatnam also known as Vizag can be gauged from the fact that its airport railway and bus stations suffered damage crippling all modes of transportThe airport and railway and bus stations were also hit in Vizag which remained without electricity for a second day With communication networks gone mobile phones were nonfunctional herePrabhakar said five teams made up of senior bureaucrats had been deployed for relief and rehabilitation effortsWith six people taking shelter in relief camps 50 tonnes of material from Vijayawada and 50 tonnes from Rajahmundry have been flown to provide foodHe said the government was trying to restore telecom systems by Monday nightHe said work had begun to estimate crop and property loss A total of 45000 electric poles have been ordered to restore power lines Of this 2000 poles have reached VizagNational Disaster Response Force NDRF teams with personnel from various government departments were clearing felled trees electricity and communication poles as well as hoardings from roadsHundreds of vehicles parked on roads in Vizag were damaged while heavy rains inundated several coloniesThe Defence Crisis Management Group has nominated the Indian Navy as the lead service for conduct of rescue and relief operations in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha under Op LeharA navy statement said its ships Ranjit Shivalik Shakti and Airavat were ready to sail with relief materialFour more ships have been kept ready for sailing at short noticeAs many as 24 teams of NDRF two army columns six helicopters and 56 boats have been deployed in the affected areasWith no drinking water milk and other essential commodities people are facing severe hardshipsLong queues of people were seen at few shops and petrol bunks that opened Monday Petrol at some filling stations was sold for Rs100 per litreChandrababu Naidu who made an aerial survey of Vizag said 600000 people in four districts were shifted to relief campsNine teams of officials are trying to assess the damage caused by the cycloneNaidu who reached Vijayawada by air Sunday evening drove to Rajahmundry He later left for Vizag in a helicopter He plans to camp for three to four days to supervise relief operations