India’s weather office called yesterday for fishermen to stay ashore hours before a very severe cyclone storm was due to strike the southeast coast, including Chennai, one of the most populous cities.
The cyclone “Vardah” is moving in from the Bay of Bengal and will make landfall along and off Chennai today afternoon with a wind speed of 100kmph, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its latest bulletin.
The coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh started getting heavy rainfall yesterday and extremely heavy rainfall is likely over Chennai and adjourning areas today, the IMD said.
“In preparation for the relief efforts, the Eastern Naval Command has assumed a high degree of readiness to render necessary assistance,” the Indian Navy said.
“All operational ships have been readied and kept on standby to undertake humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations, including evacuation, should the situation demand,” the navy said.
The ships are embarked with additional divers, doctors, inflatable rubber boats, integral helicopters and relief material that include food, tents, clothes, medicines and blankets, among other things, sufficient to sustain over 5,000 people.
“Additionally, 30 diving teams with Gemini boats and four platoons with additional relief material are ready to be pressed into action at a short notice,” the navy said.
The Eastern Naval Command is closely monitoring the developments and the Flag Officer – Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area is in constant communication with the sate administration to augment rescue and relief operations.
Naval aircraft are also standing by at the naval air stations at Rajali and Dega to undertake reconnaissance, rescue, casualty evacuation and air drop of relief material to the stranded.
On Friday, the forces evacuated over 2,300 tourists, including a dozen foreigners, by air and sea from Andaman and Nicobar islands, which was hit by the cyclone.
Authorities have hoisted the third warning signal at all ports on Andhra Pradesh coast.
District administrations in Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore have been alerted to take all precautionary measures.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who has cancelled his visit to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, is monitoring the situation from the command and control centre in Vijayawada.
Naidu deputed four senior IAS officers to four districts to take necessary steps to minimise the loss of lives and property.
Two teams of National Disaster Response Force have reached Nellore district.
India’s cyclone season generally lasts from April to December, often causing dozens of deaths, evacuations of tens of thousands of people from low-lying villages and widespread crop and property damage.
In 1999, a “super-cyclone” battered the coast of the eastern state of Odisha for 30 hours with wind speeds reaching 300kmph.
It killed 10,000 people.