Cyclone Phailin: 800,000 people homeless in Odisha, AP

Gopalpur/Srikakulam: Darkness enveloped wide swathes of the coastal districts of Odisha, especially Ganjam, whose Gopalpur-on-sea was the entry point for the storm uprooting trees and electric poles, even as nearly 800,000 people in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha left their homes to escape the fury of Cyclone Phailin. Most of the homeless people are staying in temporary refugee shelters converted in schools, college and panchayat buildings, leaving behind their home and hearth, as the cyclone ripped off thousands of thatched huts. The homeless people are scrounging for meals and drinking water, as the arrangements made by Odisha government fell far short of expectations. Fishermen in Paradeep were seen staying inside parked trucks on highway with their families. People in Odisha and coastal AP were forced to remain indoors by pounding rains and vehicular traffic came to a grinding halt.Broken glass pieces, wood shreds and asbestos sheets flew like killer projectiles in these two adjoining cities, moments after the severe cyclone 'Phailin' slammed into Gopalpur beach.The roads in these twin cities were empty as strong wind howled across hitting closed doors and windows of the houses deserted by the locals.People living in Berhampur, the largest town in Ganjam district, jostled in one corner of residential buildings as even concrete structures shook by the combined battering of winds and heavy rains.Many vehicles in Berhampore toppled by the effect of the strong winds about 45 minutes after the land fall of the cyclone.Heavy to very heavy rainfall were also widespread in the districts of Gajapati, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Kendrapara in coastal region besides state capital Bhubaneshwar.However, the extent of damage wreaked by the cyclone was not immediately available.Five people were killed in Odisha in the heavy rains ahead of the storm. Of them, three persons, including a woman, were killed after uprooted trees fell on them in the state capital and at Khalikote and Polsara in Ganjam district, police said.As Phailin closed in, water level along the Odisha coast rose. Heavy to very heavy rains were reported from the districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Kendrapara in coastal region.In Andhra Pradesh, 1,29,100 people from 294 villages in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts were shifted to a total of 115 relief camps, an official release said.On Saturday, 64,000 people in the north coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh were evacuated to safer places.Vizianagaram Collector Kantilal Dande said 10,000 to 15,000 people living in vulnerable areas are being evacuated and they are monitoring the situation on a minute-to-minute basis.The East Godavari district administration shifted fishermen from Uppada-Kakinada area to safer places in view of the cyclone.Irrigation officials are monitoring levels in water bodies in the coastal district, where medical teams have been kept ready, they said, adding, "We are expecting the intensity of cyclone to be more in the night."Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea for the next 72 hours. Special control rooms have been set up in Kakinada, Ramachandrapuram and Amalapuram towns to monitor the situation.Thirteen special officers have been deputed to assess the situation on the Andhra Pradesh coastline and 63 relief camps have been opened in the district.The Centre said that 5 lakh tonnes of foodgrains is kept ready for distribution to victims of high intensity cyclone Phailin."We are ready with 5 lakh tonnes of foodgrains for distribution to cyclone-affected people in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha," Food Minister K V Thomas told reporters.All trains between Howrah and Visakhapatnam have been suspended till Sunday night and power supply switched off along the Odisha coastline, and three coastal districts in Andhra Pradesh as a precautionary measure.Flights and trains from Odisha capital Bhubaneshwar have also been suspended.At least 10 flights of Air India, Indigo and Jet Airways scheduled to arrive or take off from the airport here remained cancelled, director of Biju Patnaik International Airport Sarad Kumar told PTI.Nearly eight lakh people were evacuated, with over seven lakhs in Odisha.Most of the evacuated people have been sheltered in 500 specially-built cyclone camps in the two states. Each cyclone shelter can accommodate up to 1,500 people while their ground floors may be used as cattle shelters.Srikakulam district, bordering Odisha, started receiving heavy rainfall under the cyclone's impact since morning.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh directed that all possible assistance be extended to the states which are on alert for cyclone 'Phailin' after reviewing the situation soon after his return from an overseas tour.The Prime Minister's Office said Singh was briefed by the Cabinet Secretary immediately upon his return from Indonesia. He was apprised about the arrangements which have been put in place to deal with the crisis."PM was briefed by the Cabinet Secretary on the arrangements that have been put in place to deal with the impact of the cyclone," the PMO said in a tweet.According to reports, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has also been in constant touch with the Union Home Minister to take a stock of the situation in cyclone-hit Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.She also said that the government and Congress would do everything to stand beside the cyclone-hit states.