BHUBANESWAR: With Cyclone Arnab set to make landfall along Andhra Pradesh coast early on Wednesday, the Odisha government has started the process of evacuating people from vulnerable areas in eight districts to cyclone shelters and other safer places.
As many as 18,000 people have so far been evacuated with around 48,010 identified for shifting from the areas lying along the cyclone’s path.
According to an official assessment, Nabarangpur has the highest number of vulnerable pockets with a population of 11,270, followed by Gajapati 11,000 and Malkangiri 9,850. Ganjam has identified 6,500 people for shifting, Koraput 5,000, Kalahandi 2,415, Nuapada 1,675 and Rayagada 300. A total of 466 shelters have been readied in these districts to accommodate them.
Special relief commissioner (SRC) Rajesh Prabhakar Patil said evacuation process is on in low-lying and landslide-prone pockets and will continue as per the developing situation. To strengthen preparedness on the ground, the state government has released Rs 19 crore as special assistance to the districts likely to be affected. Ganjam has received Rs 5 crore, while Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Kandhamal have been allocated Rs 2 crore each for relief and preparedness operations, he said.
Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari reviewed the state’s preparedness at a high-level meeting in Bhubaneswar. Pujari said the eight southern districts are likely to witness heavy rainfall and stormy conditions. Round-the-clock control rooms have been activated at state and district levels to provide emergency assistance and monitor IMD bulletins continuously.
A massive deployment of rescue forces has been made. In Ganjam, nine ODRAF teams, two NDRF teams and 24 Fire Service teams have been deployed while in Gajapati six ODRAF teams, one NDRF team and eight Fire Service teams have been stationed.
While Rayagada has three ODRAF, one NDRF and 11 Fire Service teams, in Koraput three ODRAF teams, one NDRF team and 14 Fire Service teams have been deployed. In Malkangiri, three ODRAF, one NDRF and nine Fire Service teams have also been deployed.
Similarly, ODRAF, NDRF and Fire Service teams have also been stationed in Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Kalahandi districts, he said.
The minister said district administrations have been directed to ensure that all cyclone shelters are fully-equipped and ready for use, with advance stocking of dry food, drinking water, medicines and lighting. Anganwadi centres will remain closed as a precautionary measure.
The Health department has been asked to ensure readiness of medical relief centres, mobile health teams, emergency medicines, power backup and emergency obstetric services to safeguard pregnant women and newborns, he added. Nodal officers have been assigned responsibility for flood-prone areas. A WhatsApp group has been formed to facilitate real-time coordination among officials and field-level functionaries, he said.
