Coast Guard starts evacuations; Odisha deploys 79 rescue teams
Amaravati/Bhubaneswar: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said the very severe cyclonic storm Arnab has inflicted a loss of at least Rs 4,600 crore on the state.
Addressing a press conference at Gachakayala Pora village in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district, the Chief Minister underscored that the estimation of loss will further inflate once the final pictures of the devastation emerge.
The CM noted that he apprised Union Home Minister Amit Shah of the impact of Arnab and explained the situation and efforts undertaken.
Indian Coast Guard on Thursday started airlifting marooned people from flood and landslide-hit Ganjam, while the Odisha government deployed 79 teams from different disaster response agencies for rescue operations in two districts following Cyclone Arnab, officials said.
According to Naidu, Shah promised to dispatch a Central team to the state on Friday. He also said Andhra Pradesh has submitted the preliminary report on the cyclonic destruction.
Naidu interacted with the affected villagers at Cheyyeru village in Katrenikona mandal.
He promised to compensate Rs 1,500 each for an uprooted coconut tree and an oil palm tree and hand over an aid kit of 25 kg rice, other essentials and a little cash for evacuees departing the cyclone shelters.
As advance crop insurance has been provided, the CM said a drop in the harvest yield will be compensated, promising that the government will move forward to avoid losses for farmers.
Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg said around 300 villages of Ganjam district were affected by floods, with 70 of them marooned. The state government was coordinating with the Union Home Ministry to facilitate air evacuations, she said.
With a national highway washed away and train services disrupted, special relief commissioner Rajesh P Patil said an Indian Coast Guard helicopter completed its first sortie on Thursday afternoon and was following it up with further rescue operations.
For complete restoration of power, he said 1,000 electricity employees from Telangana are being brought to the state, and added that if needed, he will also request Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Later, Naidu personally visited some flattened paddy fields to comprehend the devastation.
Earlier, Naidu undertook an aerial survey of swathes of land and fields across a few districts devastated by the very severe cyclonic storm Arnab.
The Chief Minister surveyed Krishna, West Godavari and Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema districts, an official press release said.
The CM took a chopper ride from the greenfield capital city of Amaravati to Cheyyeru village in Katrenikona mandal in Konaseema district.
En route, Naidu observed affected paddy fields and aquaculture ponds as well as banana and coconut orchards.
Elaborating on the devastation caused by the cyclone, Garg said floods have affected 299 villages of Ganjam district and the government has started airlifting 2,328 people from 70 villages cut off from the rest of the state.
Three teams of the National Disaster Response Force, 27 of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 24 of the fire service have evacuated 11,882 people from flood-hit areas of the district, she said.
