Cyclone Michaung: Andhra CM holds review meeting to take stock of preparations

Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) [India], December 3 : As Andhra Pradesh braces for cyclone 'Michaung', Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy held a review meeting on Sunday and directed the District Collectors to take all possible steps to safeguard the lives and property of people.
In the meeting held at the camp office in Amaravati on Sunday, the CM instructed the officials that the relief and rescue measures should be foolproof and all facilities, including drinking water, food and necessary medicines, should be provided in the relief camps.
Besides restoring power lines and transportation facilities in affected areas, steps should be taken to ensure proper sanitation in and around the relief camps, the Chief Minister said, adding that he should be updated periodically on the situation.
The Chief Minister told the collectors that he would review the situation again through a video conference on Monday morning.
He directed the civil supplies department to ensure that the paddy stocked in the fields does not get wet and also to procure the paddy available irrespective of its status and send the stocks to the rice mills or other available godowns at the earliest.
Given the possibility of heavy rains, officials should be ready to take all steps to safeguard people and property in the affected rural and urban areas, he told them.
West-centralCyclone Michaung, brewing over the Bay of Bengal, is expected to make landfall between Nellore and Machilipatnam with winds that could pack speeds of up to 100 kmph on Tuesday morning.
The cyclonic storm is currently over the Southwest Bay of Bengal and is likely to continue to move northwestward, intensify further and reach the Westcentral Bay of Bengal off south Andhra Pradesh and adjoining north Tamil Nadu coasts by Monday afternoon.
Subsequently, it would move nearly northwards, almost parallel and close to the south Andhra Pradesh coast and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam during Tuesday afternoon in the form of a 'severe cyclonic storm' with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph, gusting to 110 kmph.
During the period, parts of north-coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, Telangana, and Odisha are likely to experience rainfall, though with varying intensity.
The India Meteorological Department advised fishermen not to venture into the sea during this period. The fishermen who are out at sea are advised to return to the coast by today.
The weather office further said there are risks to thatched huts, possibilities of damage to vulnerable structures, breaking of tree branches, and uprooting of small and medium-sized trees.
Minor damage to power and communication lines due to the breaking of branches and uprooting of trees, major damage to Kutcha and minor damage to Pucca roads due to heavy rain are expected.
Damage to paddy crops, horticultural crops and orchards is also expected, according to the Met department.
Given the impending cyclone Michaung, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) of Indian Railways has cancelled as many as 54 trains as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of passengers. The cancellations will be in effect from December 2 to December 7.