CM reviews preparations in the face of cyclone

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday reviewed the preparations to face the impending cyclone and directed senior officials to take all precautionary measures in coastal districts.

Reddy, who conducted a review meeting with Revenue Minister N Raghuveera Reddy and Chief Secretary P K Mohanty, instructed that people and cattle from low-lying areas should be shifted as and when necessary to safer places, an official release said here.
 Following directions from the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary, Disaster Management Commissioner T Radha and other top officials held a video conference with collectors of nine coastal Andhra districts.
 The Chief Secretary told the collectors of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Guntur, Krishna, Prakasam and Nellore that as per the latest IMD Bulletin yesterday, cyclone Phailin moved slightly north-westwards.
 It intensified further and lay centred at 0530 hrs IST yesterday as a cyclonic storm about 850 km southeast of Paradip, 900km east-south-east of Kalingapatnam and 950 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam.
 The system would intensify into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours and continue to move northwestwards and cross north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast between Kalingapatnam and Paradip by the night of October 12 as a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 175-185 kmph.
 North coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam are likely to experience very heavy rain from tomorrow evening and other coastal districts would also receive heavy rainfall.
 A round-the-clock control Room has been set up in Revenue (DM) Department in the Secretariat here, with telephone numbers 040-23456005/23451043 and Fax- 040-23451819.