Cyclone Asani: 43 trains cancelled in AP

South Central Railways have canceled as many as 43 trains scheduled for May 11 following Cyclone Asani.

Trains to and from Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Kakinada Port, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam, Narasapur, Gudivada, Bhimavaram Junction, and Nidadavolu have been canceled.

Train number 12787 from Narasapur to Nagarsol has been rescheduled. The train will depart from Narasapur at 02:05 pm instead of 11:05 pm on May 11.

Train number 17228 from Guntur to Dhone will depart from Guntur at 03:00 pm instead of 01:00 pm on May 11.

On the other hand, the route for train number 17644 from Kakinada to Chengalpattu has been diverted. It will skip Gudivada and Kaikalur stops.

Cyclone Asani has also hit flight operations with several airlines canceling flights in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. All IndiGo flights coming into Vizag airport and taking off from the city (23 arrivals and 23 departures) were canceled on Tuesday as a precautionary measure given Cyclone Asani.

Airport director K. Srinivasa Rao said AirAsia Delhi-Vizag-Delhi and AirAsia Bengaluru-Vizag-Bengaluru have been canceled as of now. Air India also canceled two arrivals and two departures from Vizag on Tuesday.

Cyclone Warning Centre (CWC), Visakhapatnam has issued a red alert in six districts of Andhra Pradesh.

According to the latest CWC bulletin, extremely heavy rainfall is likely to occur at one or two places over Visakhapatnam, Krishna, Guntur, East Godavari, Yanam, and West Godavari districts. The red warning will be in place from 8:30 am on 11 May to 8:30 am on 12 May, when the severe cyclonic storm is expected to weaken into a depression.

CWC has also advised fishermen not to venture into the sea in Andhra Pradesh and Yanam. Currently, wind speed reaching up to 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 mph is prevailing off the Andhra Pradesh coast. From the early morning hours on 11 May, the wind speed will increase, becoming 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph. From morning to noon, wind speed is expected to be reaching 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph.

CWC alerts damages

CWC damage to thatched huts, power and communication lines, Katcha, and pucca roads are likely to occur.

Paddy and other standing crops like banana, papaya trees, and orchards are also expected to witness some damage. CWC said some of the low-lying areas of Krishna, East and West Godavari, Yanam of Puducherry union territory, and Visakhapatnam are at the risk of getting inundated.

Flights cancelled for consecutive day

A total of 44 Indigo flights, both arriving and departing in Visakhapatnam have been cancelled again on Wednesday. Similarly, Air India has also announced that flight services will be halted for now due to the cyclone.