East Godavari: Trees face heavy winds as Cyclone Phethai barrels through coastal Andhra Pradesh, near Kakinada in East Godavari, Monday, Dec. 17, 2018. (PTI Photo) ()
Visakhapatnam, December 17 (IANS) Cyclonic storm ‘Phethai crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast in East Godavari district on Monday, causing widespread rains, uprooting trees, paralyzing transport and damaging crops.
‘Phethai' made the landfall near Katrinekonda in EastGodavari district with a wind speed of 80 kmph and re-emerged into the Bay ofBengal before crossing the coast between Kakinada and Yanam, an enclave ofPuducherry in the same district.
Authorities heaved a sigh of relief as no loss of life wasreported till Monday evening. The coastal region was also spared of majorlosses, barring damages to standing crops over hundreds of acres.
According to officials at the Visakhapatnam Cyclone WarningCentre, the severe cyclonic storm weakened due to unfavourable environmentalconditions and crossed the coast as cyclonic storm. After crossing the coast,it moved towards Odisha.
The incessant rains accompanied by gusty winds lashing thecoastal district since Sunday inundated low-lying areas, disrupted electricityand drinking water supply throwing normal life out of gear. The cyclone alsoparalysed road, rail and air traffic in the region.
East Godavari District Collector Kartikeya Mishra saidelectricity supply was disrupted to 99 villages and it would be restored soon.
Over 5,000 people from some coastal and low-lying villageswere shifted to relief camps opened by the East Godavari districtadministration.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu monitored the situationfrom Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) control room in Amaravati.
Home Minister N. Chinna Rajappa, who monitored the situationat the Collector's office in Kakinada, said all measures were taken to tacklethe situation. He said efforts were on to restore normalcy in the affectedareas.
RTGS officials said the measures taken by the authoritiesand the precaution by people ensured that there was no loss of life and alsominimised the property damage.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State DisasterResponse Force (SDRF) and naval helicopters were on standby along with 10,000government employees as part of disaster preparedness.
Rescue workers were busy removing fallen trees, electricpoles and debris from roads to restore vehicular traffic.
Turbulent weather conditions forced the authorities tocancel 14 flights to the port city of Visakhapatnam and divert many others toHyderabad. Over 700 passengers were stranded at Visakhapatnam airport due tocancellation of flights.
A holiday was declared for all educational institutions inthe coastal region. Authorities also suspended long-distance bus services andcancelled over 50 trains as a precaution.
The cyclone, the second to hit Andhra coast this year, hadits impact on seven out of nine coastal districts. The rains inundated roadsand low-lying areas in Vijayawada, bringing vehicular traffic to a halt.
‘Phethai' also had impact on neighbouring Telangana statewith heavy rains lashing many districts. Paddy, cotton and other agricultureproduce brought by farmers to the markets for sale were damaged.
The weather in Greater Hyderabad was cloudy and chilled.Parts of the city experienced showers.