M A I N   N E W S

Seven dead as ‘Laila’ hits AP coast
9 dists bear the brunt; cyclone weakens
Suresh Dharur
Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, May 20
After keeping the authorities guessing about its path, the cyclonic storm “Laila” hit the coast in Andhra Pradesh today, leaving a trail of destruction and claiming at least seven lives.

Accompanied by winds at a speed of 120 km per hour, the cyclone kissed the coast, about 50 km from Bapatla in Guntur district. However, instead of crossing the coast, it changed its route and travelled all along the coastline between Bapatla and Machilipatnam before re-entering Bay of Bengal.

The tropical storm then headed towards Balasore in Orissa on way to Bangladesh where it is expected to make the landfall, the weather officials said. In the process of changing its direction, the cyclone has weakened considerably, the officials said. However, under its impact, heavy rains lashed nine coastal districts in the state with Ongole town in Prakasam district bearing the brunt and recording 35 cm rainfall.

The state commissioner for disaster management Radha said seven rain-related deaths had been reported from coastal region with Nellore district accounting for three deaths followed by East Godavari (2) and Vizianagaram and Krishna districts one each. Normal life was paralysed in the coastal region as incessant rains wreaked havoc, uprooting trees, damaging power and telecommunication systems, destroying crops and disrupting rail and road transport.

At least 11 towns and 1,500 villages plunged into darkness due to extensive damage to electricity poles and transformers.

Over 51,000 people from vulnerable areas have been shifted to 255 relief camps. The Chief Minister K Rosaiah, who has been constantly monitoring the situation along with officials and his Cabinet colleagues, said Army choppers are assisting relief operations.

He said 12 teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), comprising 550 personnel, have already been deployed and another 600 personnel were expected to arrive soon.

The Chief Minister also spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister P Chidambaram who assured all possible assistance to the state government.

As many as 770 villages, spread over nine districts, have been declared by authorities as vulnerable to cyclone damages. The Army authorities have been contacted for deployment of helicopters for rescue and relief operations.

The Met Department, in its bulletin at 1.30 pm, said that seven of the nine coastal districts would suffer extensive damage and warned people not to leave their homes. The districts are Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore.

Meanwhile, the weather office has forecast heavy to very heavy rains in coastal districts for the next 36 hours.