Bhubaneswar: Cyclonic storm Gulab that made landfall in Andhra Pradesh had no major impact in the state. However, some parts of southern Odisha have experienced heavy rain and medium-range windfall.
The cyclone made landfall at a place in Andhra Pradesh, about 95 km from Gopalpur where a large number of people have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Speaking to reporters, Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena said 148 mm rainfall was recorded at Potangi block in Koraput district followed by Mahendragarh (89.4 mm) and Mohana (77.2 mm) in Gajapati district. Road connectivity was partially affected due to landslides and uprooting of trees in some places of Gajapati, Koraput and Malkangiri districts, he said.
Jena said the state government has so far evacuated 46,075 people including 1,533 pregnant women, to safer places where the district administrations have made arrangements to provide them dry and cooked food.
“The cyclone situation in Odisha remains by and large normal though trees were uprooted and houses damaged at some places,” Jena said.
The road between Vijaynagaram and Sunki in Koraput was disconnected due to a landslide while trees fell on Lamtaput-Vishakhapatnam road at Kanchana, disrupting communication, he said.
Trees were also found uprooted on thoroughfares at Kunduli under Pottangi police station limits, he said, adding movement of vehicles was also affected at several places of Gajapati district as roads were blocked due to landslides.
Road transport was disrupted due to falling of trees at Tarlakota in Malkangiri which witnessed heavy rainfall Sunday night while asbestos roofs of several houses were damaged in Raleguda block, a district official said.
Due to overnight downpour, a portion of the National Highway-26 was submerged near the government hospital at Sunki Monday. A team of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force personnel rushed to the area and evacuated people to a nearby large multi-purpose cooperative society office, Jena said.
The Ganjam district administration has sealed Soroda-Daringbadi ghat road, anticipating a landslide due to heavy rainfall Sunday night.
Teams of ODRAF and the National Disaster Response Force have been stationed at affected places to repair roads and remove uprooted trees, he said.
The administrations of seven cyclone-hit districts – Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur – have been asked to submit damage assessment reports in the next five days.
PNN
