Past experiences helped save lives, but Andhra farmers bear Fani brunt

VISAKHAPATNAM: Srikakulam district on Saturday wore a look of normalcy after it was battered by heavy rains and gusty winds owing to the ‘extremely severe’ Cyclone Fani. Having learnt its lesson from past cyclone, officials had swung into action soon after the cyclone made its landfall and restored power and water supply by Saturday night in almost all cyclone-affected villages. Meanwhile, residents of probable flood inundation villages, who took shelter in the cyclone relief centres for two days, returned to their homes.

The cyclone has, however, shattered the lives of thousands of farmers, particularly those from the Tekkali revenue region, as Fani was the second cyclone in the last six months. District collector J Nivas held a review meet with officials of various departments on Saturday. He said that the initial estimates put the losses at about ?59 crore. “44 teams and three rescue teams with advanced equipment have been clearing uprooted trees. About 1,500 volunteers of Red Cross have been participating in the relief works,” said Nivas. He directed officials to address the complaints of the victims on an immediate basis.
Speaking to STOI, superintending engineer, EPDCL, Srikakulam, B Deva Vara Prasad, said that the cyclone has affected power supply in about 733 villages. “The power supply has been restored in most villages. The remaining villages will have power by Saturday night,” he said.
S Bhaskar Reddy, revenue divisional Officer of Tekkali division, said, “The well-targeted evacuation plans and cyclone shelters made sure that there were no casualties.