Over 2 lakh evacuated as 'Hudhud' set to hit AP, Odisha coasts

Over 2 lakh people living in and around the vulnerable coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have been evacuated with Cyclone 'Hudhud' set to hit the two states no Sunday with winds gusting up to 195 kmph.

The cyclone is expected to make a landfall near Visakhapatnam by Sunday afternoon, a senior official said, adding, about 1.11 lakh people in 5 coastal districts have been shifted to safer places.

The Andhra government has made arrangements to evacuate 5,14,725 people in all, officials said, while the Army and the Navy have kept their personnel on stand-by for rescue and relief operations.

In Odisha, the state government began evacuating people from vulnerable areas to minimise casualties even as two flights and 39 trains on the route were cancelled.

"The collectors of eight districts - Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi and Kandhamal have been on the job to shift people from vulnerable areas to safe places," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra said.

The cyclone will attain its top speed of 195 kmph early Sunday morning, the IMD said.

The cyclone, which lay centred 250 km southwest of Visakhapatnam and 340 km south-southeast of Gopalpur at 2.30 PM, will attain speed of 170-180 kmph around 5.30 am with winds gusting up to 195 kmph, a bulletin issued by the Indian Meteorological Department said in Delhi.

Image: The cyclone is expected to make a landfall near Visakhapatnam by Sunday afternoon Photograph: SnapsIndia