Cyclone Titli: Nearly 3 lakh people evacuated in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: As many as 3 lakh people have been evacuated in Odisha on Wednesday in view of severe cyclonic storm Titli, which is likely to hit the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coast on Thursday morning.

The people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas in Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Khordha districts.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the preparedness at Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) office as cyclone Titli races towards Odisha-Andhra coast.

"Till now 3 lakh people have been evacuated as cyclone Titli is likely to make landfall at 5 am tomorrow," said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.

The Chief Minister also reviewed the position of the reservoir and asked the authorities to closely monitor the situation.

SRC Bishnupada Sethi has asked collectors of affected districts to ensure that 836 numbers of multi-purpose shelters are kept ready to accommodate maximum people.

13 NDRF and 9 ODRAF teams have been deployed in Ganjam, Gajapati, Puri, Kendrapada, Nayagarh, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Khordha, Cuttack, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Kalahandi, Boudh and Sambalpur districts.

Besides, fire service teams across Odisha have been asked to remain in the alert, said the SRC office.

While all district collectors have been asked to keep the administrative machinery in preparedness, District Emergency Operation Centres of all districts and control rooms of different departments have been activated round the clock.