Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday night appealed to residents to stay indoors as a severe cyclone closes in on the state’s coast. After reviewing preparedness with senior officials, he told a press conference that the storm can speed up, slow down or change direction without warning. Saving lives is the government’s first priority, he said, and preventing property damage the second.
He said the weather department has classified the system as very severe, with heavy to very heavy rain and strong winds expected in the coastal districts. The cyclone is likely to make landfall between Kakinada and Yanam between 5 am and 9 am on Wednesday, with wind speeds of 140 to 160 km/h and gusts of up to 180 km/h. Heavy rain will continue after landfall, he warned.
Drawing on past disasters, the Chief Minister recalled the 1996 cyclone that killed about 2,000 people in East Godavari district. He said he flew to the area by helicopter despite bad weather, then ran relief operations from Rajahmundry, deploying officials mandal by mandal and requisitioning private lorries. During Cyclone Hudhud, he said, he stayed in Visakhapatnam for a week, and the city later got an underground cable network to reduce future damage.
He issued a set of advisories. Residents should stay home until authorities declare it safe, cancel all travel, charge phones and power banks, and keep candles and essentials ready. Fishermen must not go to sea or to the shore to check their boats. People in low-lying areas and river-island (lanka) villages should move to relief centres immediately, villagers should guard local tanks against breaches, and fallen trees or power poles should be reported to control rooms.
Chandrababu said more than 84,000 people have been shifted to 2,199 relief centres. Twelve NDRF and ten SDRF teams, along with the Navy, Coast Guard, police and fire services, are deployed, and medical teams, emergency medicines, power restoration crews, drinking water tankers and generators are ready. He said he would monitor the situation personally through the night and urged people not to panic.