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In a massive evacuation exercise, the state government has shifted 361,177 people from low lying areas of coastal districts as the severe cyclonic storm 'Phailin' gains strength and is set to hit the shores of south Odisha by 6 pm today.
"Till now 361,177 people have been evacuated in the coastal districts. This includes 120,000 in Ganjam, 16,380 in Khurda, 80,000 in Puri, 56,998 in Jagatsinghpur, 16,000 in Kendrapara, 14,205 in Bhadrak, 1,950 in Balasore, 46,409 in Cuttack, 1,235 in Nayagarh and 8,000 in Gajapati. The evacuation work is almost complete in the coastal districts with people being shifted to cyclone shelters, school buildings and other safe places. Hoteliers in Puri have been instructed to shift tourists to upper floors”, said minister for revenue & disaster management S N Patro.
Patro claimed all people living in mud houses within five km radius of the sea have been shifted.
The minister said the armed forces are geared up for any rescue and relief work.
"As many as 300 Army personnel have reached Bhubaneswar from Jharkhand. Twenty eight teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also taken their positions. Fifty doctors have been deployed to the areas vulnerable to the storm”, he added.
"Twenty six teams of NDRF have already been dispersed to different locations in Gopalpur, Puri and Paradip districts. We are going to bring an additional team of NDRF”, said Surjet Singh Guleria, deputy inspector general of NDRF.
For post cyclone relief operations, 15 aircrafts have been pressed into service. The aircrafts have reached the Barrackpore airport and can reach the affected spot immediately. The aircraft fleet includes 10 choppers, two AN-32 transport planes, one Avro aircraft and one C17 Sea Hercules.
"The team of 300 Army personnel have been divided into four columns. Two columns would be despatched to Ganjam, one to Brahmagiri and Krushnaprasad, the vulnerable areas in Puri district and one to Cuttack. The column at Cuttack will be split into two and sent to Jagatsinghpur and Ersama”, said Special Relief Commissioner Pradipta K Mohapatra.
Meanwhile, the pre-cyclonic rainfall and gusty winds has claimed one life in Bhubaneswar. Jayanti Rout (42) of Baramunda locality in the city was killed when she was hit by a tree trunk while plucking flowers.
Besides, 18 fishermen have been trapped in Paradip as the trawler ran out of diesel. A rescue vessel of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has been pressed into service for their rescue.
"An FIR has been lodged in the Paradip police station against the owner of the trawler. The owner is responsible for the situation and he is being interrogated”, said Mohapatra.
The cyclonic storm is located at a distance of 260 km south-east of Gopalpur (as on 6 am) with the wind speed at 220 km/hr, he said.
