Cyclone Hudhud : Essential items in short supply, Modi to visit Vizag today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Visakhapatnam on Tuesday to review the situation after cyclone Hudhud killed 24 people and left a trail of destruction in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

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Tidal waves hit the Vizag beach as Cyclone Hudhud reaches Visakhapatnam. (PTI Photo)

Tidal waves hit Vizag beach as cyclone Hudhud reaches the port city of Visakhapatnam. (PTI Photo)

Fishermen negotiate their skiff through rough waves ahead of Cyclone Hudhud on Saturday. (AFP Photo)

People look at a sea tide at Vizag on Sunday. (PTI Photo)

A man carries his wife to safety after a wave hits a beach in Gopalpur in Ganjam district, Odisha. (Reuters)

A view of Visakhapatnam city due to Cyclone hudhud on Sunday. (Arun Sharma/HT Photo)

Huge waves hit the beach in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. (AFP Photo)

People move during rain in Berhampur near Gopalpur sea beach as cyclone Hudhud looms. (PTI photo)

NDRF jawans depart from their Mundali headquarters to the districts that could be hit by Cyclone Hudhud in Bhubaneswar on Friday. (PTI Photo)

Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) personnel who are to be deployed ahead of a new upcoming Cyclone Hudhud in Ganjam district, in Bhubaneswar. (Arabinda Mahapatra/HT photo)

Large waves buffet the coastline as Cyclone Hudhud makes landfall in Visakhapatnam. (AFP photo)

Residents of seaside village Satabhaya are rescued after their boat sank in Bausagali river in Odisha's Kendrapada district on Saturday. (Arabinda Mahapatra/ HT Photo)

The Prime Minister would visit Visakhapatnam and undertake an aerial survey of the city in the afternoon, according to Parakala Prabhakar, advisor (Communications) to the Andhra Pradesh government.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is already camping in the port city to oversee the relief operations, is expected to brief the Prime Minister on the massive damage caused by the cyclone.

Naidu has urged the Centre to treat the devastation caused by the severe cyclonic storm as a "national calamity" and requested for an assistance of Rs. 2,000 crore.
The disaster management department of Andhra Pradesh said over 1.35 lakh people are taking shelter in the relief camps and 5,62,000 are being provided with food.

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The residents of Visakhapatnam, a picturesque location in the east coast of the country and a major industrial, educational and tourism hub, continued to reel under the crisis of not having electricity and communication network.
Many residents complained of power woes and acute shortage of essential items like milk and food and petrol.Taking advantage of the situation, some traders were selling the essential items at exorbitant prices, they alleged.
Authorities worked to restore communication lines, removing trees and electric poles and were trying to get air and train services back on track after strong winds damaged railroads and the airport.
People queued up at petrol pumps and outside ATMs and stores to buy essential commodities such as milk, candles and kerosene.
“We need at least 100 years to rebuild our beautiful city,” said a worker, cutting an uprooted tree outside the collectorate.
Relief teams were working round the clock to restore essential services by Tuesday, Visakhapatnam district collector N Yuvraj said.
The government is using Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp to reach out to people.
Chief minister Naidu, who took a tour of some of the worst-hit areas on Tuesday, also visited a petrol pump to find out from the residents about the problem.
The state government, aided by NDRF and army personnel, began a massive relief operation on a war footing and facilitated flow of traffic on some of the major roads by removing the debris.
Besides Visakhapatnam, the other north coastal Andhra districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and East Godavari have suffered widespread damage.
The gusty winds, with a speed of 170-180 kmph uprooted trees, electric poles and roofs of thatched houses all over the city when the storm made landfall and crossed the coast on Sunday last.


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