District administration gears up to face 'Asani'

Visakhapatnam: As severe cyclonic storm 'Asani' is very likely to head towards north-westwards till May 10 and is expected to re-curve north-eastwards. The cyclonic storm is set to weaken gradually in the next 24 hours.

Under its influence, heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by squally winds are likely to occur over East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts.

On Monday, several parts of Visakhapatnam witnessed a wind speed ranging from 30-40 kmph. In some of the lanes in the city, tree branches fell off blocking the traffic on the roads. The dry litter was strewn along the roads as winds continued from the morning.

As a part of the safety management, a control room has been opened at the collectorate to function round the clock with toll-free numbers 0891-2590100 and 0891-2590102.

With heavy rains likely to occur at one or two places in the district, instructions were issued to all tehsildars, RDOs and line department staff in the district to stay at their respective headquarters to monitor the situation and take necessary precautions.

Fishermen are advised not to venture into west-central and adjoining south Bay of Bengal on May 9 and west-central Bay of Bengal during May 10 to 12.

Meanwhile, five flights which were supposed to land in Visakhapatnam have been cancelled on Monday. With this, the flight service from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Mumbai and Chennai were cancelled in Visakhapatnam airport.

As the severe cyclonic storm, Asani is predicted to make a landfall between North Andhra Pradesh and South Odisha coast on May 11, ICGS Veera, five disaster relief teams with 20 Coast Guard personnel have been kept standby with relief material at Visakhapatnam to meet any contingency during cyclone. Also, frequent alerts against venturing out into the sea are being issued for safety of country boats from ICG ships at sea.