Michaung: Cyclone to make landfall near Bapatla; 900 evacated in SCAP, 21 camps set up

Bapatla: Nearly 900 people living along the southern coast of Andhra Pradesh have been evacuated as cyclone Michaung is set to make landfall.

Residents have been advised not to venture out as Michaung is set to hit Bapatla district within hours.

Bapatla Superintendent of Police Vakul Jindal said people living in thatched houses in the region have been evacuated. He said 21 cyclone shelters have been set up, even as 10 trees got uprooted and 12 bridges and culverts are overflowing in the district.

"As of now, there is not much of a human impact. It is raining and a bit windy. We have cleared the uprooted trees and stopped vehicle movement at overflowing places. We are vigilant and we will see what happens and respond accordingly," Jindal said.

While some people were moved to shelters in vehicles, people living nearby marched on foot. Heavy rains continue to lash several parts of Andhra Pradesh as the severe cyclonic storm Michaung looms over the Bay of Bengal Sea close to Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Tamil Nadu. It is moving closer to its landfall area.

In the event of an emergency, Bapatla district police told people to reach out to helplines 100, 112 and police control room number 8333813228.

Landfall near Bapatla:

Amaravati Meteorological Centre noted that the current intensity of gales near the center of the severe cyclonic storm is 90 100 km per hour and gusting up to 110 kmph.

A severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal along and off the south Andhra Pradesh coast moved northwards with a speed of 12 kmph during the past 06 hours and lay centered at 0830 hours on December 5 over the same region near Latitude 15.2°N and Longitude 80.25°E, about 40 km northeast of Kavali, 80 km north-northeast of Nellore, 80 km south-southwest of Bapatla and 140 km south-southwest of Machilipatnam.

As the system is moving nearly northwards close to the coast, some parts of the wall cloud region continue to lie over land. The system is likely to move nearly northwards parallel and close to the south Andhra Pradesh coast and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast close to Bapatla during the next 4 hours as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph.

Meteorological Department forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall, accompanied by gales in parts of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday and Wednesday. It also forecasts extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places.

On Tuesday, it forecast extremely heavy rainfall, greater than 204.4 mm, at isolated places of Konaseema, West Godavari, Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Palnadu, Bapatla, and Prakasam districts, along with heavy to very heavy rainfall, 115.6 mm to 204.4 mm, in parts of these districts.

Likewise, it forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in parts of Alluri Sitharamaraju, Kakinada, East Godavari, Kadapa, and Nellore districts.

Further, the Meteorological Department forecast heavy rainfall, 64.5 mm to 115.5 mm, in parts of Srikakulam, Parvathipuram Manyam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli, Nandyala, Annamayya and Tirupati districts.

Except for the four Rayalaseema districts of Kurnool, Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, and Chittoor, several parts of the rest of the state are expected to be pounded by rains.

Several parts of West Godavari district have been witnessing intermittent rainfall since Sunday night.

Between 8.30 am on Monday and 6.30 am Tuesday, the Meteorological Department recorded a rainfall of 213.6 mm in Bapatla, Nellore (209.5 mm), Machilipatnam (149.3), Kavali (142.6 mm), Ongole (114.4 mm), Kakinada (59 mm) and Narasapuram (58.5), among others.

Centre urges state to help:

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday urged the Centre to provide all possible help to states affected by Cyclone Michaung.

In a post on X, Kharge said it is distressing to witness the impact of the cyclone in Tamil Nadu, where precious lives have been lost.

"The cyclone is expected to make its presence felt in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Puducherry, and may cause heavy rains in Jharkhand. All the state governments must receive every possible assistance from the Union Government in this hour of need. We must be together to avert any crisis," the Congress chief said.

Asserting that the safety of the people is paramount, he also requested the Congress workers to provide all help to fellow citizens.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi also condoled the loss of lives in the cyclone.

"Distressed by the news of the destruction and deaths caused by Cyclone Michaung in Tamil Nadu. My heartfelt condolences to those who have lost their loved ones," he said on X.

"As the cyclone advances, I urge Congress leaders and workers of TN, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha, to extend all possible support to their govt's relief and rescue efforts," he added.

Other districts on alert

In view of several streams and water bodies overflowing in East Godavari district, superintendent of police P Jagadish said police personnel have been deployed across the district to carry out relief efforts.

Similarly, Anakapalli district SP K V Murali Krishna directed his subordinates to clear uprooted trees and keep JCB excavators and cutting machines ready for this purpose.

He also directed them to coordinate with other departments to restore powerlines. In the wake of swollen water bodies, Murali Krishna called on people observing karthika maasam' rituals to avoid going to the seashore and other water bodies.

Major dams are full in Tirupati

Meanwhile, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the official custodian of Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, noted that all the five major dams in Tirumala have reached their full capacity by 4 am on Monday itself due to incessant rains in the past four days.

Papavinasanam, Akasaganga, Gogarbham, Kumaradhara and Pasupudhara are the chief water sources in Tirumala. Water is also drawn from Kalyani Dam in Tirupati.

About 100 mm of rainfall had been recorded in Tirumala in just 24hours by Monday evening.

Further, TTD imposed restrictions on the movement of two-wheelers on ghat roads.

Tirupati MLA and TTD chairman B Karunakara Reddy visited cyclone affected people on Tuesday morning at Pulavanigunta and Gollavanigunta and interacted with them, and assured help.