With Cyclone Hudhud roaring towards the Odisha coast, the state government today began evacuating people from vulnerable areas to minimise casualties even as two flights and 39 trains on the route were cancelled.
"The collectors of eight districts - Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi and Kandhamal have been on the job to shift people from vulnerable areas to safe places," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra said.
Rains have been reported from some areas, mostly in the southern region but there was no report of any major damage so far, sources in the SRC said.
Malkangiri, which is likely to the worst hit, is experiencing heavy rainfall and strong winds have been reported from it. One 'kuchha' house at Gudguta village was damaged as a tree fell on it but there was no report of any casualty from anywhere in the district.
Mohapatra said about 3.5 lakh people, including those living in the coast of Ganjam are being evacuated and the district authorities have been asked to start a free kitchen. The district authorities have also been asked to stock adequate quantities of dryfood.
The government has deployed 25 units - 15 of NDRF and 10 of ODRF, each comprising 40 personnel, besides fire service men in vulnerable places in different parts of the state, the SRC said.
As the southern part of the state is likely to be more affected by the cyclonic storm, heavy rainfall and consequent floods, collectors of the eight districts have been asked to carefully assess and evacuate all vulnerable population to safe buildings, Chief Secretary G C Pati said.
As cyclone and flood situations are new for the tribal population in these districts, the administration is facing difficulty convincing the people to shift.
"We have engaged public announcement system and local community leaders to ensure that all the people living in kutcha houses are taken to safe places," Pati said.
