Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Vishakhapatnam on Tuesday to review the rescue and relief work in the wake of Cyclone Hudhud's devastation in Andhra Pradesh, which has left at least 24 people dead.
The Prime Minister will also undertake an aerial survey of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram, which are the worst affected districts besides Vishakhapatnam.
Instructing top officials to ensure that there is no bottleneck in relief and rescue work in the cyclone-affected areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, Prime Minister Modi also asked them to continue to work closely with the affected states.
Prime Minister Modi, who reviewed the status of relief and rescue operations at a high-level meeting yesterday, emphasized the need to document learnings from this cyclone and to put in place more precise drills and disaster management plans, especially in areas which are prone to such disasters.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister was briefed on the extent of destruction including the damage to infrastructure like roads, railway lines, buildings and power and telecommunication lines.
Prime Minister Modi was also given an overview of the status of relief operations and the steps taken to ensure supply of essential commodities including food, drinking water and fuel. The Prime Minister was informed that the extent of damage to standing crops shall be assessed over the next few days.
Though some of the main roads have been cleared of uprooted trees and collapsed poles, the restoration work of the 15-kilometer long rail track near Elemanchili on the Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section is underway. The Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments have extended help by deploying men and material for rescue operations.