Hyderabad: With the cyclonic storm 'Thane'
closing in on the Bay of Bengal coast, the Andhra Pradesh
government sounded a high alert on Thursday and directed Collectors
of vulnerable coastal districts to immediately evacuate people
living in low-lying areas and closer to the shore.
The "very severe cyclonic storm" that lay centred over
southwest Bay of Bengal this morning, is expected to move
westwards and cross north Tamil Nadu coast between
Nagapattinam and Chennai tomorrow morning. It may cause heavy
rain up to 25 cm in districts like Nellore, Prakasam and
Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, an official release said.
State Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy held a
high-level meeting with Chief Secretary Pankaj Dwivedi,
Disaster Management Commissioner T Radha and other top
officials to review the situation and the Government's
preparedness in meeting any eventuality.
"Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over
south coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema districts. The wind speed
will increase gradually to 110-120 kmph, gusting to 135 kmph
along north Tamil Nadu and south coastal Andhra from tonight,"
Raghuveera told reporters after the meeting.
Of the 72 fishermen who went missing from different parts
of the state in the last couple of days, all but eight were
safe, he said. "We have launched an aerial survey through
helicopters to trace the eight fishermen trapped in sea."
He said Roads and Buildings, Municipal Administration,
Electricity, Medical and Health and Fisheries department
officials have been put on high alert. The Minister appealed
to pilgrims headed for Tirumala-Tirupati to postpone their
travel plans in view of the cyclone.
The government fears there could be damage to crops like
paddy and groundnut due to the cyclone. Irrigation department
authorities have been asked to ensure there were no breaches
to major canals.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, December 29, 2011, 19:12