Andhra Pradesh coast braces for cyclone, high alert sounded
‘Phethai’ expected to make landfall on Monday, with low-lying areas warned of storm surge
Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh on Sunday sounded a high alert in the coastal region as a cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal was heading towards it and was likely to cross the region between Kakinada and Visakhapatnam on Monday.
The Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) of the state government alerted all nine coastal districts. The State Disaster Response Force (SRDF) and National Disaster Response Force were kept on standby.
Parts of the coastal region, especially Krishna district, on Sunday started experiencing rains and strong winds, while the sea became rough.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu directed the coastal districts to take all precaution to prevent the loss of lives.
According to the Visakhapatnam Cyclone Warning Centre, ‘Phethai’ will intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm over the next few hours and weaken slightly before making a landfall on Monday afternoon.
It lay centred about 560km south-southeast of Machilipatnam and 600km south-southeast of Kakinada on Sunday morning.
The Met office has forecast rainfall in most places, with heavy to very heavy showers in isolated places over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam district in Puducherry on Sunday and Monday.
Wind speeds of 45-55 km/h are expected along and off Andhra Pradesh’s coast, with wind speeds of over 100 km/h seen on Monday.
The Cyclone Warning Centre has warned that a storm surge of up to one metre could inundate the low-lying areas of Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur districts along Andhra Pradesh’s coast and Yanam district in Puducherry at the time of landfall.
Fishermen were advised not to venture to sea.