Cyclone Michaung crosses Andhra Pradesh coast, to weaken into cyclonic storm

Severe cyclonic storm Michaung crossed south Andhra Pradesh coast close to Bapatla district between 1230 pm and 230 pm on Tuesday with maximum gales of up to 90100 km per hour speed said an Amaravati Meteorological Centre officialThe weather system is likely to move northwards and weaken into a cyclonic storm in the next two hours said the officialThe weather system over westcentral Bay of Bengal running near south Andhra Pradesh coast moved northwards at a speed of 11 km per hour in the past six hours and crossed Andhra Pradesh coast between 1230 pm and 230 pm according to a press releaseBy 230 pm it lay centred over south coastal Andhra Pradesh about 15 km southwest of Bapatla and 40 km northeast of OngoleWhile making landfall the eye of the storm was situated near Bapatla in south Andhra Pradesh coast while the forward sector of the weather system had also entered overland The landfall phenomenon lasted around three hoursAt many places in the affected districts of the southern state Michaung left a trail of inundation eroded roads overflowing canals swollen streams and ponds including submerging thousands of acres of fields of crops in the agrarian stateMeanwhile Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy held a review meeting to take stock of the severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday and assessed its impact and relief measuresOfficials informed that the cyclone made landfall between Nellore and Kavali and noted that the remaining part of the weather system was moving towards the sea according to a Chief Ministers Office CMO statementOfficials updated on the relief efforts being undertaken in the affected districts CM Reddy instructed officials to take immediate measures to restore electricity in the cycloneaffected areas and also disburse compensation in the event of casualties or cattle lossFurther the CM instructed officials to efficiently distribute food rations deploying the ward and village volunteer system He sanctioned Rs 22 crore for immediate relief effortsThe state government set up helplines in the affected districts Bapatla 8712655881 Guntur 0863 2234014 Krishna 08672 25272 NTR 0866 2575833 Chittoor 9491077356 Kadapa 08672 23272 Visakhapatnam 0891 2590100 and Tirupati 0877 2236007 among othersDepartmental helplines include Police 100 112 and Fisheries 9390125477 In Anakapalli district 52 rehabilitation centres have been set up and arrangements made to accommodate more than 60000 peopleFurther the state government took steps to prevent four lakh tons of grains from getting wet A holiday has been declared for schools in Eluru districtIn the wake of the severe cyclonic storm several paddy fields were inundated at Sarvepalli in Nellore district Special officer Hari Kiran went to observe Sarvepalli Reservoir He also surveyed some affected places in Nellore townThe services of ward and village volunteers came in handy for the state government In Tirupati district volunteers restricted movement of people near an overflowing bridge at Athuru villageThey shifted cycloneaffected people from an ST Colony in R Mallavaram village in Renigunta mandal to a nearby high school and also served food to them among other relief activitiesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever