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Thousands evacuated as Phailin turns into a super cyclone

October 11, 2013

Super_cycloneBhubaneswar, Oct 11: Cyclone Phailin with a wind speed of 220km per hour is turning into a super cyclone before making landfall on Saturday evening near Gopalpur in Odisha where the government has galvanized its machinery to deal with its impact and is evacuating thousands of people from low-lying areas.

"The US Navy has also forecast that the wind speed will be above 240kmph. Therefore, the cyclone is not less than any super cyclone for us," special relief commissioner P K Mohapatra said.

He said that though the IMD on Friday indicated that the wind speed would be limited to 185kmph, it was now forecasting it at 220kmph.

Mohapatra said the IMD had declared the 1999 calamity as a super cyclone as the wind speed had crossed 220kmph.

"This time around, the wind speed is not much different than the previous super cyclone," he said.

Squalls with a wind speed of 45-55kmph to 65kmph have already started along Odisha coast since morning.

"It would increase in intensity with gale wind speeds reaching 210-220kmph along and off south Odisha at the time of landfall," the IMD said in a bulletin categorised as an Orange Message.

It would make landfall near Gopalpur in Ganjam district on Saturday evening after crossing an area between Paradip in Odisha and Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The IMD said the cyclone over east central Bay of Bengal remained stationary and lay 520km south-southeast of Paradip and 530km southeast of Gopalpur.

The IMD forecast a storm surge of 2.5 metre to 3.0 metre in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts.

A storm surge is a rise of the sea as a result of atmospheric pressure changes and winds associated with a storm.

Local Cautionary (LC-III) has been hoisted in all the ports in the state.The Navy, Airforce, NDRF, ODRF were ready for relief and rescue operation as soon as the cyclone hit the coast, Mohapatra said.

A worried state government held meetings and evaluated the changed circumstances.

"At least 28 teams of the National Disaster Response Forces are at the disposal of the Odisha government for evacuation and relief operations," a senior official said after one such meeting.

So far eight teams of NDRF, reaching having 20 personnel, have been deployed in Puri district, the official said.

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister S N Patro said district collectors have been told to complete evacuation of people by this evening.

"We do not want to take any chance," Patro said, adding that shelters were ready.

Appealing to the people not to panic, chief minister Naveen Patnaik asked them to cooperate with the government in relief and rescue operations.

Earlier:

Cyclone Phailin: Antony asks armed forces to be ready

New Delhi Oct 11: Defence Minister A K Antony today asked the armed forces to be ready to move in to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in view of the impending severe cyclonic storm Phailin.

Two IAF IL-76 aircraft have already airlifted NDRF teams and equipment to Bhubneshwar.

IAF assets have been kept on stand by at various bases including – Raipur, Nagpur, Jagdalpur, Barrackpore, Ranchi and Gwalior.

It has also kept two C130J aircraft, 18 helicopters, 2 AN-32s aircraft on a standby to move at a short notice besides asking its Eastern Air Command to coordinate relief operation with the task force positioned at Barrackpore.

The intensity of cyclonic storm Phailin is likely to increase as it has crossed the wind speed of 205-215 kmph in the early hours today, the MET department said.

The storm is still 520 km south-southeast of Paradip, 530 km southeast of Gopalpur, and 530km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam.

It would move northwestwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast between Kalingapatnam and Paradip, close to Gopalpur (Odisha) by evening of 12th October as a "very severe cyclonic storm" with a maximum sustained wind speed of 205-215 kmph. The tide height too is expected to be around 2 meters to 2.5 meters.

"The intensity of the storm has increased in the last few hours. Although it is a very severe cyclonic storm, it still cannot be termed as a super cyclone. We have keeping a close watch on it" said a senior MET department official.


Earlier:

Phailin gains strength, wind speed to reach 215 kmph: IMD
Phailin_gainsBhubaneswar, Oct 11: The severe cyclonic storm Phailin over east central Bay of Bengal today further intensified and is all set to make a landfall close to Gopalpur in Odisha at a wind speed of at least 205 kmph tomorrow.

"The very severe cyclonic storm, PHAILIN over east central Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 15 kmph and lay centred about 520km south-southeast of Paradip, 530 from Gopalpur and 530km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam," the IMD said in its latest bulletin.

"It would move northwestwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast between Kalingapatnam and Paradip, close to Gopalpur (Odisha) by the evening of October 12," the IMD said.

IMD, which till last night expected that the wind speed would remain limited within 185 kmph during landfall on Saturday, said in its latest bulletin that Phailin would hit with increased intensity with a maximum sustained speed of 205-215 kmph.

Similarly, though IMD forecast a storm surge of 1.5 meter to 2 meter in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts in the coast yesterday, today it said the storm surge height will be around 2 meter to 2.5 meter above astronomical tide. This would inundate low lying areas of Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Jagatsinghpur in Odisha.

Squally winds speed reaching 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph have already started along Odisha coast this morning under the influence of Phailin. "It would increase in intensity with gale wind speed reaching 205-215 kmph along and off coastal districts of south Odisha at the time of landfall," the IMD said.

Meanwhile, a worried state government held several meetings and took stock of the situation in the changed circumstances. The state government has already asked the district authorities to start evacuation of people living in low lying areas close to the sea.

"We have ordered that nobody should be allowed to stay in thatched and weak houses," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra said.

The personnel of of Odisha State Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire men have already been deployed.

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News Network
February 2,2020

New Delhi, Feb 2: The Congress on Sunday released its manifesto for Delhi polls, promising to implement unemployment allowance of Rs 5,000-7,500 per month and cashback schemes for water and power consumers, if voted to power.

Presenting the manifesto, Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra said the party will provide free power up to 300 unit per month.

The manifesto also committed to spend 25 per cent budget each year on fighting pollution and improving transport facilities.

An unemployment allowance of Rs 5,000 for graduates and Rs 7,500 for post graduates per month will be provided under the Yuva Swabhiman Yojna, he said.

The Congress will launch flagship cashback schemes for power and water supply to benefit consumers saving these resources. The party, if voted to power, will open 100 Indira Canteens to provide subsidised meals at Rs 15, Chopra said.

The Congress will challenge the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the Supreme Court and demand the Centre to withdraw the law. The party will also not implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the existing form of the National Population Register (NPR), if voted to power in Delhi.

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News Network
February 24,2020

New Delhi, Feb 24: The shared values between India and the US are "discrimination, bigotry, and hostility towards refugees and asylum seekers", Amnesty International USA said in a joint statement with Amnesty International India ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to India on Monday.

Trump, accompanied by his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as senior officials of his administration, landed in Ahmedabad on the first leg of his two-day visit to India.

"Anti-Muslim sentiment permeates the policies of both U.S. and Indian leaders. For decades, the U.S.-India relationship was anchored by claims of shared values of human rights and human dignity. Now, those shared values are discrimination, bigotry, and hostility towards refugees and asylum seekers,” Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA’s executive director, was quoted as saying in the statement.

It was a reference to the anti-CAA protests in India, the internet lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir and the Muslim ban expansion by President Trump affecting Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Tanzania, the statement said.

It added that Amnesty International USA’s researchers travelled to Lebanon and Jordan to conduct nearly 50 interviews with refugees that as a result of the previous version of the ban have been stranded in countries where they face restrictive policies, increasingly hostile environments, and lack the same rights as permanent residents or citizens.

The statement also came down hard on the Indian government, hitting out at the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019 and saying it legitimises discrimination based on religious grounds.

It criticised statements such as “identify them (the protestors) by their clothes” or “shoot the traitors” by Prime Minister Modi and his party workers. Such remarks "peddled the narrative of fear and division that has fuelled further violence", it said.

“The internet and political lockdown in Kashmir has lasted for months and the enactment of CAA and the crackdown on protests has shown a leadership that is lacking empathy and a willingness to engage. We call on President Trump and Prime Minister Modi to work with the international community and address our concerns in their bilateral conversations,” Avinash Kumar, executive director, Amnesty International India said in the statement.

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Agencies
February 29,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 29: With Saudi Arabia indefinitely suspending visas for visit to Islam's holiest site for the Umrah pilgrimage in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, more than 10,000 people in the state who are awaiting their turn this year for the annual Hajj pilgrimage are a worried lot.

"This year more than 10,000 people in Kerala have been cleared by the Hajj committee," said C Muhammed Faizy, chairman, Kerala State Hajj Committee.

"There is no cause of worry. We hope that during the time of the pilgrimage, the travel restriction by Saudi Arabia will be lifted," he said.

Umrah is a pilgrimage to the holy site that can be undertaken at any time of the year, while the annual Hajj pilgrimage has specific months according to the lunar calendar.

"The move by the Saudi Arabian Government to impose travel restriction was due to the outbreak of coronavirus. It is a preventive step to contain it. In such large gatherings, if one person is affected, it will spread to others. So we fully understand the concerns of the Saudi Government," Muhammed Faizy added.

He said that the Hajj Committee only processes the requests of annual Hajj visit pilgrims and not Umrah.

"This year we expect the Hajj pilgrimage season to be from June to August after Ramzan. But it may vary according to the Ramzan date. We are yet to get any official correspondence from the Saudi Government regarding travel restrictions," he added.

The Saudi Arabian Government suspended visas for tourists from countries affected by the coronavirus, with many having to cancel their Umrah pilgrimage at the last minute.

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