The Phailin cyclone, that has brought Odisha bitter memories of a similar 1999 disaster that killed 10,000 people, is apprehended to hit landfall at Gopalpur at 8pm on Saturday.
The sea has turned turbulent forcing the fishing vessels that had ventured into the deep sea to return, while authorities are busy trucking thousands of villagers from their mud and thatch coastal homes to government shelters inland.
We bring to you ground zero coverage from Odisha:
• Heavy rains in port city of Paradeep, wind speeds of 70kmph reported.
• 700 stranded railway passengers take shelter in Railway Kalyan Mandap in Puri.
• Total shutdown in Bhubaneswar, 150-160km off Gopalpur where the cyclone is set to hit.
• Three died after uprooted trees fell on them, due to heavy rainfall and strong winds.
While a 35-year-old man of Garama village in Jagatsinghpur district died after a tree fell on him amidst gusty winds, a 42-year-old woman also met the same fate.
A man also succumbed to injuries after a tree fell on him at Khalikote area in Ganjam district, police said, adding the deceased was yet to be identified.
• Rain and heavy winds lashing coastal Odisha. Wind picking up speed. Weather condition has deteriorated all over Odisha.
• Gopalpur in Ganjam, is expected to bear the extreme brunt of the cyclone, at about 5:30pm. Ganjam would be most vulnerable to the landfall while six other districts Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda and Balasore would also be severely affected.
• Wind speed in Gopalpur is consistently increasing and has currently hit 150kmph. Windspeed in Berhampur, a sub-division of Ganjam district and only 70km away from Gopalpur, too has reached around 150kmph.
• Complete power shut down in seven districts, including Bhubaneswar.
• In Jagatsinghpur district, the cyclone shelters have been crowded as hordes of people have spontaneously reached there.
• Most labourers working in Paradip Port have left town with the authorities closing all shipping operations. “I wanted to go back but I have no money. I do not know what to do,” Dinga Ram, a labourer from Jharkhand said.
• 18 fishermen rescued by the Indian Coast Guard. They had gone to sea two days ago and were 'stranded' off Astaranga in Puri district. Officials had been trying to communicate with them.
• A woman died in Barmunda, Bhubaneswar after tree falls on her during rains.
• All 28 trains running over East Coast Railway canceled. All trains between Andhra and Odisha also canceled. 13 other long distance trains were diverted while another five trains were short-terminated. Read more
• All 18 flights, coming to and going from, Bhubaneswar's Biju Patnaik Airport cancelled.
• All petrol pumps shut in seven Odisha districts expected to bear the brunt of Phailin.
• Power supply in Bhubaneswar erratic; people stock up food and are buying candles, torches.
• 500 trees uprooted around Paradip port in Jagatsinghpur district, say govt officials. "Cleaning operation has begun to clear roads for smooth passage of relief materials," Jagatsinghpur collector SK Mallick said.
• Allegations of food not being available in cyclone shelters set up in Ganjam district, which is most vulnerable to the cyclone.
• In Ganjam people were reluctant to move from their houses. “We will get over the storm,” said Seetha Reddy, a fisherwoman in Gopalpur who was reluctant to leave her 'kutcha' house but was forced by the police to shift to a shelter.
“We have already evacuated more than 3.71 lakh people from affected districts. All the people in villages coming under five kilometres area of sea shore have been evacuated. We have even used police force to evacuate people in Gopalpur,” Odisha revenue minister SN Patro said.
• The countdown for the cyclone began with most of Odisha recording incessant rainfall from mid-night even as Odisha government evacuated about 3 lakh people from low lying areas of seven districts to be affected by it.
(With PTI inputs)
The sea has turned turbulent forcing the fishing vessels that had ventured into the deep sea to return, while authorities are busy trucking thousands of villagers from their mud and thatch coastal homes to government shelters inland.
We bring to you ground zero coverage from Odisha:
• Heavy rains in port city of Paradeep, wind speeds of 70kmph reported.
• 700 stranded railway passengers take shelter in Railway Kalyan Mandap in Puri.
• Total shutdown in Bhubaneswar, 150-160km off Gopalpur where the cyclone is set to hit.
• Three died after uprooted trees fell on them, due to heavy rainfall and strong winds.
While a 35-year-old man of Garama village in Jagatsinghpur district died after a tree fell on him amidst gusty winds, a 42-year-old woman also met the same fate.
A man also succumbed to injuries after a tree fell on him at Khalikote area in Ganjam district, police said, adding the deceased was yet to be identified.
• Rain and heavy winds lashing coastal Odisha. Wind picking up speed. Weather condition has deteriorated all over Odisha.
• Gopalpur in Ganjam, is expected to bear the extreme brunt of the cyclone, at about 5:30pm. Ganjam would be most vulnerable to the landfall while six other districts Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda and Balasore would also be severely affected.
• Wind speed in Gopalpur is consistently increasing and has currently hit 150kmph. Windspeed in Berhampur, a sub-division of Ganjam district and only 70km away from Gopalpur, too has reached around 150kmph.
• Complete power shut down in seven districts, including Bhubaneswar.
• In Jagatsinghpur district, the cyclone shelters have been crowded as hordes of people have spontaneously reached there.
• Most labourers working in Paradip Port have left town with the authorities closing all shipping operations. “I wanted to go back but I have no money. I do not know what to do,” Dinga Ram, a labourer from Jharkhand said.
• 18 fishermen rescued by the Indian Coast Guard. They had gone to sea two days ago and were 'stranded' off Astaranga in Puri district. Officials had been trying to communicate with them.
• A woman died in Barmunda, Bhubaneswar after tree falls on her during rains.
• All 28 trains running over East Coast Railway canceled. All trains between Andhra and Odisha also canceled. 13 other long distance trains were diverted while another five trains were short-terminated. Read more
• All 18 flights, coming to and going from, Bhubaneswar's Biju Patnaik Airport cancelled.
• All petrol pumps shut in seven Odisha districts expected to bear the brunt of Phailin.
• Power supply in Bhubaneswar erratic; people stock up food and are buying candles, torches.
• 500 trees uprooted around Paradip port in Jagatsinghpur district, say govt officials. "Cleaning operation has begun to clear roads for smooth passage of relief materials," Jagatsinghpur collector SK Mallick said.
• Allegations of food not being available in cyclone shelters set up in Ganjam district, which is most vulnerable to the cyclone.
• In Ganjam people were reluctant to move from their houses. “We will get over the storm,” said Seetha Reddy, a fisherwoman in Gopalpur who was reluctant to leave her 'kutcha' house but was forced by the police to shift to a shelter.
“We have already evacuated more than 3.71 lakh people from affected districts. All the people in villages coming under five kilometres area of sea shore have been evacuated. We have even used police force to evacuate people in Gopalpur,” Odisha revenue minister SN Patro said.
• The countdown for the cyclone began with most of Odisha recording incessant rainfall from mid-night even as Odisha government evacuated about 3 lakh people from low lying areas of seven districts to be affected by it.
(With PTI inputs)