THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The district administration authorities have made an appeal to the public to stay indoors for the next 48 hours until Cyclone Burevi passes the district.
District collector Navjot Khosa said that as per the current course of the cyclone that formed in the Bay of Bengal, the entire district is at risk.
Extreme rainfall accompanied by strong winds is expected to lash the district from Thursday onwards and hence it was not wise to go out of homes under those extreme conditions. Indian meteorological department has issued red alert for southern districts, including Thiruvananthapuram for Thursday as very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is predicted.
The district administration has made thorough arrangements to meet potential adversities that the cyclone may cause.
The key step being identifying places that can be converted into shelter camps. They have already identified 180 such camps with a total capacity to accommodate 11,050 individuals.
“We have directed the local body authorities that they do not have to wait till the rain makes the landfall here and to start shifting dwellers of vulnerable spots at the earliest,” the collector said, adding that the entire coastal region of the district and hilly regions were at most risk.
The district administration has opened a 24x7 control room. In case of emergencies, people can seek their service by dialling ‘1077’.
On Wednesday, a unit of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached the district.
The unit, comprising 20 personnel, even visited Amboori, which has a record of major landslide in the past, and inspected the surroundings. The police and fire and rescue services personnel too are ready to meet any exigencies.
The fisheries department has made sure that almost all fishermen who have gone to sea for fishing in the previous days have returned.
“We have been issuing warnings to them since Sunday. Now, barring around 10 fishermen, who are working in big fishing vessels that remain in sea for weeks, all other fishermen have returned,” said an official of the fisheries department.
The department officials had reached out to maximum fishermen who are out in the sea in bigger fishing vessels and advised them to return to the nearest shore.
KSEB has opened a control room in the district to address the likely emergencies in connection with Cyclone Burevi, which is expected to pass through the southern part of the district in the coming days.
Consumers may contact 0471-2551399 or 9446008756 to appraise the board regarding power disruptions that may happen on account of the cyclone.
Consumers may also contact respective section offices to register their complaints. The board, in a statement, requested consumers to avoid visiting section offices in person in view of the Covid-19 emergency.