BHUBANESWAR:
Cyclone Titli made landfall near Palasa in Srikakulum district of Andhra Pradesh, between 4.30am to 5.30am on Thursday morning, near Palasa in Srikakulum district of Andhra Pradesh, about 40km from Gopalpur of Odisha. The wind reached 140 kmph gusting to 165 kmph. Landfall process continued for 2-3 hours causing heavy rain and squally winds in several coastal districts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Ganjam and Gajapati districts have been worst affected where several trees and electric poles were uprooted leading to disruption of road connectivity. There has been no report of any casualty so far, said Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi.
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Titli crossed near Palasa in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh
“The worst affected area is Gajapati district. Road connectivity from Paralkhemundi to Mohana, Kashi Nagar and Goshani has been completely disrupted due to uprooting of large trees. But there has been no communication problem in Ganjam district so far. Electricity department have been moved for restoring the damages occurred,” Sethi said.
Eight districts including Ganjam, Khurda, Gajapati, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Balasore have been affected due to the cyclonic storm, the SRC said. Damage has been caused to thatched and asbestos houses, street lights, roads blockage due to falling of trees, and minor damage occurred to power and communication in Ganjam and Gajapati districts.
Odisha government has shifted around three lakh people from low-lying areas of coastal districts to safer places on Wednesday. As many as 13 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams have been deployed in different districts.
Due to heavy rain, flood situation is likely to occur in different river systems like Rushikulya and Bansadhara. Besides, heavy rain is expected in districts like Puri, Khurda, Balaore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Angul, Keonjhar and Rayagada in the next 24 hours, Met office said.