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The district authorities in Visakhapatnam and the neighbouring districts of Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and East Godavari are evacuating people on a large scale in vulnerable coastal areas as the severe cyclonic storm Hudhud lay centred around 300 km north-east off Visakhapatnam on Saturday afternoon. It is predicted to cross the Visakhapatnam coast on Sunday morning or afternoon.
Visakhapatnam District Collector N. Yuvaraj told presspersons on Saturday morning that 40,000-50,000 people in low-lying, vulnerable coastal villages had been evacuated to relief camps and more would be evacuated if necessary. He said six national disaster response force (NDRF) teams had been deployed in the district. Other precautionary measures were being taken to minimise loss of life and property. Educational institutions were closed on Saturday and he urged people to co-operate with the authorities and remain indoors till the cyclone crosses the coast and for sometime afterwards.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are being positioned in advance at vulnerable places to instil confidence among the residents. "Each NDRF team comprises 45 persons and it can be broken into three teams, which means that we have 33 teams available for deployment along the coast," said Aravind Kumar, special officer on duty.
S.S. Guleria, the DIG of the NDRF, said 20 teams were in Odisha and, depending on the course of the cyclone and the necessity, some of them may be brought to the AP coast. At present, the NDRF teams are in readiness for deployment from Srikakulam to Kakinada, and they would take all steps to minimise loss of life, rescue people and also save cattle and other animals.
Traffic stopped
Traffic on the national highway between Payakaraopeta in Visakhapatnam district and Icchapuram in Srikakulam district on the Odisha border was stopped on Saturday morning and the railway authorities have cancelled several trains, and diverted or regulated several others between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam and also between Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar.
India-West Indies ODI
The cyclone also poses a threat to the third one-day international cricket match between India and West Indies scheduled to be played here on October 14. The match may be shifted to some other venue if flights are cancelled due to the cyclone and it becomes difficult for the teams to land here. However, the Andhra Cricket Association authorities are hopeful that the rain would abate by Monday afternoon and the match would go ahead as planned.
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