KENDRAPARA: Fishermen of the district and its nearby areas have returned to shores and anchored their vessels at the harbours owing to threat posed by cyclone ‘Amphan’. All the vulnerable pockets of the district have been brought under safety cordon with multi-purpose cyclone shelters being readied to accommodate people in case of exigency. Collector Samarth Verma said the district administration is working in tandem with local sarpanchs and other panchayat members to help people prepare for the cyclone in seaside villages of Rajnagar, Mahakalapada and Rajkanika blocks.
“The coastal areas of the district are regularly hit by cyclones and everyone is taking this threat extremely seriously and making sure the right measures are in place to mitigate its impact. The Government has also issued a warning to people against visiting the sea beaches,” he said.
The Government, three years back, had built 122 early warning dissemination system (EWDS) towers at the seaside villages of the State to provide cyclone and tsunami warnings to the villagers of coastal pockets. All the towers have been fitted with sirens. The sound emanating from the towers can be heard in localities up to a radius of 1.5 km. “EWD towers are also meant to enable authorities to alert people in smaller pockets, depending on the severity of the disaster,” said Executive Director of Odisha State Disaster Management Authority Dr Kamal Lochan Mishra.
Evacuation to begin today
Jagatsinghpur: The Jagastinghpur administration has decided to shift all elderly persons and pregnant women living in thatched houses to safer places on Sunday. Collector Sangram Mohapatra on Saturday reviewed preparedness of different agencies on relief and rescue operations in wake of the impending cyclone Amphan. The Collector informed that one NDRAF team comprising of 21 personnel reached Paradip on the day and two ODRAF teams will arrive on Sunday. One ODRAF team will be deployed at Paradip and another at Jagatsinghpur town.
He has directed all BDOs and civic officials to remain in their headquarters till the situation normalises. The district administration had readied 42 multiple cyclone shelters and 562 primary schools to accommodate people. Emergency teams of fire fighters and CESU personnel have been stationed in all coastal villages of Balikuda, Kujang and Erasama blocks. “We will also evacuate people from these blocks on Sunday after observing movement of the cyclone”, said the Collector. The Health officials have been asked to ensure that all doctors and para-medical staff are available at PHCs and sufficient quantity of medicines stocked.