The 'very severe cyclone' Jal over the Bay of Bengal has lost its strength and is now being treated only as a 'severe cyclone'.
Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao said on Sunday that the 'very severe cyclone' Jal over the Bay of Bengal has lost its strength and is now being treated only as a 'severe cyclone'.
Quoting the cyclone bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Visakhapatnam, on Sunday, Dharmana Prasada Rao told reporters that the cyclone Jal laid centred 250 km east-southeast of Chennai and 300 km of south-southeast of Nellore.
He said that the cyclone was moving west-northwest-wards, and is expected to hit the land between Chennai and Nellore by Sunday evening or night, accompanied with wind speed between 80 kmph to 100 kmph.
"We have conveyed this information to the administration in the concerned districts, and have told them to take all appropriate measures. We are setting up 56 relief camps in Nellore district, 108 in Prakasam, 65 in East Godavari, 5 in Krishna and 1 in West Godavari to shift people living in vulnerable areas," the minister said.
Prasada Rao said the severity of cyclone will reduce and that wind speed also may come down drastically after hitting land.
Under the influence of the cyclone, heavy to very heavy rainfall will occur in the next 48 hours in Nellore, Chitoor, Prakasam and Guntur districts, and isolated to moderate rain at a few places in the Rayalaseema region.
He said Nellore district has lost 10 lives so far due to the cyclone Jal. The total number of deaths due to the cyclone would be ascertained once it crosses the coast, he said.
Prasada Rao said the condition of the sea will be very rough to high, along and off these coasts, becoming phenomenal at the time of landfall.
A storm surge of about 1-2 meters above the astronomical tide may inundate the low-lying areas of Nellore and Prakasam districts at the time of landfall, he added.
The minister said that evacuation of people to relief camps has already started, and that the people should not resist the attempts to evacuate them.
"The cyclone is likely to lose strength further, so people in low-lying areas should come forward to stay in the relief camps at least for a day," he said.
He said that 9 fishermen were caught in the sea between East and West Godavari districts, and that efforts were on to rescue them.
A high alert has been sounded at the Nizampatnam fishing harbour, and 300 mechanised boats are ready to meet any situation, officials said.
Meanwhile, the Guntur district administration has identified 28 coastal villages in 5 talukas as "extremely vulnerable", and relief camps have been opened to shift people from there.
Courtesy: INN