Cyclone Lehar to hit Andhra Pradesh on Thursday
Posted on: 27/Nov/2013 12:10:22 PM
Andhra Pradesh now braces for cyclone Lehar which will make landfall on Thursday. Costal Odisha has also been put on high alert. Lehar is about 700-800 kms from the coast and landfall is expected by Thursday noon. Heavy rains can be expected in the coastal districts from Wednesday evening with the cyclonic system inching towards the coast.
The cyclone intensity would gradually increase with rainfall being witnessed at most places and heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places. Isolated extremely heavy falls would occur over north coastal Andhra Pradesh on November 28.
Squally winds, with speed reaching 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph, would commence along and off Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts from November 27 evening. The very severe cyclonic storm is expected to cause extensive damage to agriculture crops, kutcha houses and disrupt power and communication lines and also disrupt rail and road traffic.
The government has already put the Collectors of coastal districts on high alert and announced a number of measures to deal with the situation. The East Godavari district has announced holiday for educational institutions on Wednesday and Thursday and also asked the owners of small shops not to operate.
Meanwhile, an official release informed that newly-formed State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) consisting of 450 personnel drawn from police, fire services etc., is also being deployed for rescue operations. The evacuation will begin on Wednesday.
