Cyclone Phethai hit the coast near Katrenikona in the Konaseema region of East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh at 1 p.m. on Monday. Cyclone Phethai barrelled through coastal Andhra Pradesh, triggering heavy rains, uprooting trees and electric poles, and claiming one life, officials said.
Power supply was snapped and communication network was partially damaged. The South Central Railway cancelled and rescheduled several trains, while air traffic to and from the port city of Visakhapatnam was hit by turbulent weather conditions.
Educational institutions were closed in coastal districts as a precautionary measure.
Cyclone Phethai barrels through coastal A.P.
East Godavari district bore the brunt of the storm as it made landfall near Katrenikona in the afternoon, forcing evacuation of 20,000 people, who have been sheltered in relief camps.
Howling winds that gusted up to 85-90 kmph uprooted electric poles and trees in Katrenikona, Tallarevu and Malkipuram in East Godavari, disrupting power supply. No casualties were, however, reported.
Deputy Chief Minister (Home) N. China Rajappa is camping at Bhairavapalem village in East Godavari district to oversee relief and rescue operations. — PTI
‘Phethai’ weakens into a cyclone
The Real-Time Governance Centre (RTGS) at the State Secretariat said ‘Phethai’ weakened into a cyclone after making landfall. It moved towards Kakinada, hitting the town with downpour, before rolling towards Visakhapatnam district, officials said.
Chief Executive Officer of the RTGS Babu Ahamed said precautionary steps taken by the authorities had minimised damage to life and property.
He said trees were uprooted in some 20 places and rescue teams had cleared the debris in 15.
Spare electric poles were kept ready, he said. — PTI
Air traffic hit
Air traffic to and from the port city of Visakhapatnam was hit by turbulent weather conditions. Some flights had to be cancelled or diverted to Hyderabad.
An Indigo flight from Bengaluru that was to land in Visakhapatnam on Monday morning was diverted to Hyderabad.
An Indian Airlines flight on way to Visakhapatnam from Hyderabad was sent back, while an Indigo flight from New Delhi was diverted to Telangana capital, according to Visakhapatnam airport director.
A Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam Spicejet flight was cancelled while several others of different airliners were rescheduled. — PTI
Over 50 trains cancelled
The South Central Railway has cancelled over 50 trains in coastal Andhra Pradesh in view of severe cyclonic storm Phethai, which is set to hit the coast near Kakinada on Monday afternoon.
Many trains from Vijayawada to various destinations in coastal Andhra were suspended as a precautionary measure.
Relief camps opened, CM may visit affected areas
Relief camps were opened for the evacuees in the Konaseema region and Home Minister N. Chinna Rajappa was personally monitoring the arrangements. He said Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu may visit the cyclone-hit areas in the evening.
High tide was prevalent in the Bay of Bengal along the Kakinada coast. Vehicular traffic was stopped along the Uppada Kothapalli beach road. The bridge across the Godavari between Yanam and Edurlanka was closed from the morning. Trees were uprootes in the gale and alerts were issued to the public not to come out of their homes. The cyclone disrupted the normal life and damaged the crops.
Relief activities and the damage assessment were going on simultaneously and a clear picture on the damage is expected to emerge by the evening. - K.N. Murali Sankar
One killed in Vijayawada landslip
One person was killed in a landslip caused by heavy rains in Vijayawada city but no other casualties have been reported from elsewhere so far, according to sources in the State Disaster Management Authority.
Life hit in Guntur
Life continues to be paralysed for over 24 hours as a spell of heavy rain pounded most parts of Guntur district under the impact of Cyclone Phethai.
The spell of rain accompanied by gales is keeping the people on edge but with the Cyclone moving away towards Northern direction, people of coastal mandals heaved a sigh of relief.
A cyclone warning level 5 has been was issued at Nizampatnam and fishermen have been advised against venturing into the sea.
About 80 fishermen from Tamilnadu have been rescued by local marine police at Repalle and were lodged at a cyclone shelter in Lankavanidibba village.
The coastal mandals of Bapatla, Repalle, Nizamptanam bore the brunt of the Cyclone. Pittalavanipalem in Bapatla mandal received 7.4 cm of rain.
Paddy farmers in areas near Tenali were hit as paddy which is to be harvested was inundated. Farmers were trying to salvage the paddy by covering with sheets. - P. Samuel Jonathan
Phethai to bring rains to West Bengal
The system is likely to cause widespread rain in all districts of Gangetic West Bengal, with heavy rain in one or two places till Tuesday morning, the Met department said.
Kolkata, which has had an overcast sky since Sunday with intermittent drizzles, is likely to experience light to moderate rain, it said.
In West Bengal, heavy rain is likely to occur over one or two places in Howrah, East and West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, West Burdwan, Jhargram and Hooghly district on Monday.
Strong wind, with speeds reaching 30 to 40 km per hour is likely to blow over northwest Bay of Bengal, the Met said in its forecast.
Forecast for Odisha
Four districts in South Odisha have been experiencing rain since Sunday evening due to the cyclone, while Gangetic West Bengal is likely to experience heavy rain till Tuesday morning, the meteorological (Met) department said.
The cyclone is likely to make landfall in Andhra Pradesh in the afternoon and thereafter move in a northeasterly direction along the coast, it said.
South Odisha districts such as Koraput, Malkangiri, Raigada and Gajapati have been experiencing rainfall along with strong surface wind since Sunday evening, the officials said.
Wind warning
Crops damaged due to severe wind and rain
Gales with speed reaching 70-80 km/hr, gusting to 90 km/hr, are likely along and off north coastal AP and squally winds, with speed reaching 50-60 km/hr, gusting to 70 km/hr, are likely along and off south coastal AP.
The sea condition will be choppy with high to very high waves expected over west central Bay of Bengal.
Trains cancelled
A number of Vishakapatanam-bound trains have been cancelled due to Cyclone Phethai, which is expected to make a landfall around Kakinada on Monday afternoon
Janmabhoomi, Ratnachal and Simhadri Express trains have been cancelled in both directions for the day.
Full details here .
Srikakulam gears up for Phethai
Srikakulam district administration is gearing up to handle possible crisis with the impact of cyclonic storm Phethai. The senior officials including Collector K. Dhananjaya Reddy and Joint Collector K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu held an emergency meeting on Monday early hours with the heads of irrigation, revenue, fire service and other departments.
The Collector said that the district might receive 20 cm rainfall and it might to lead to floods to Vamsadhara, Nagavali, Bahuda and other rivers. He directed Vamsadhara Irrigation Circle M. Surender Reddy to coordinate with Odisha administration to monitor the inflows from catchment areas of Odisha. He said that proper release of water from Gotta barrage would minimise the inundation of low-lying areas. He said that sudden release of huge waters would lead to untold miseries to the people.
Cyclone gives Chennai a miss
With Cyclone Phethai moving towards Andhra Pradesh on Sunday evening, Chennai did not get the expected rain.
An official of the India Meteorological Department said the cyclone was expected to cross the coast near Kakinada by Monday noon. The storm would generate wind speeds reaching 45-55 kmph along the coastal regions of south Andhra Pradesh, north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The sky would be generally cloudy on Monday, with light rain in some areas. Once the storm makes landfall in Andhra Pradesh, gale winds would touch a speed of around 80-90 kmph.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into sea until Monday.
Downpour continued to lash East Godavari district from Sunday night and the district was plunged into darkness in the absence of power supply. Heavy rain coupled with gales has affected the daily life and the situation is likely to be continued till Monday evening with the meteorological department in its latest bulletin stating that cyclone Phethai might hit the coast anywhere between Kakinada and Tuni during the day.
High tide was prevalent in the Bay of Bengal and the Kakinada-Uppada beach road was closed for the general public. Officials were on high alert and closely monitoring the cyclone situation from minute to minute. Special focus was made on vulnerable mandals of I. Polavaram and Katrenikona where the rainfall and velocity of gales were heavier than the other parts of the district.
Collector Kartikeya Misra said that steps were taken to mitigate the impact of the cyclone and the entire district machinery was deputed on the cyclone duties.
(Reports K.N. Murali Sankar and with inputs from Agencies)
