Hyderabad, Nov 23: Nine people were killed and hundreds of villages and towns in six coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh were reeling under darkness as wind with speeds up to 100 kmph and heavy rain under the influence of cyclone “Helen” uprooted trees and power lines.
More than 16,200 people, mainly in Krishna district, were evacuated and shifted to 73 relief camps. Krishna District Collector Raghunandan Rao declared a holiday for all educational institution in coastal areas of the district.
In all, nine people, including Penimantra Tahasildar Satyanarayana, who was on duty, died in rain related incidents. Two labourers were killed in Lakshmipuram and Tallapalem in Krishna district, while six people died in Amalapuram mandal, East Godavari district.
As the cyclone made landfall near Machilipatnam on Friday around 2pm, heavy rain and winds lashed areas around Machilipatnam, Visakhapatnam, Narsapur, Amalapuram, Uppada, Kothapalli, K Gangavaram, Kakinada and Srikakulam.
According to C Partha-sarathy, commissioner, disaster management, restoration of power lines and roads has begun but the process is getting delayed due to incessant rain. He said, in West Godavari district alone, 48 such roads need to be cleared on a war footing. Six IAS officers have been deputed to oversee relief operations in all the affected districts.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy reviewed the situation on Friday morning.
The chief minister spoke to collectors of East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur districts over phone and asked to them open relief camps wherever required and evacuate people to safety.
He wanted the district administrations to co-ordinate with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police and other departments in the rescue and relief operations.
The NDRF has deployed ten teams. Three teams have been deployed in Machilipattnam, two in Narsapur, West Godavari district, and one each in Rajolu and Amalapuram in East Godavari, and Baptala in Guntur district, a senior NDRF official said.
Two reserve teams have been kept at the NDRF base in Guntur. Officials said the National Disaster Management Authority has reviewed the situation and preparations to tackle “Helen”.
Warnings have been issued to fishermen in the area to stay away from the sea until the cyclone settles down completely.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has dispatched its ship “Avantibai” to rescue 20 fishermen from East Godavari district trapped in the rough sea. A Chetak helicopter of the Navy is also being pressed into service for the rescue operation.
Request for chopper
“We have also requested for twin-engine helicopter launch,” the Navy informed the general administration department.
As per initial reports, paddy, which was ready for harvest, has been damaged in several blocks of Machilipatnam, Narsapuram, Amalapuram and Srikakulam, in addition to banana, coconut and several other crops.
Andhra Pradesh has nearly 1,000-km long coastline and the nine districts face cyclone threat every year, especially between September and November.
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