Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Monday said that the evacuation of people living along the coastline in 12 districts has begun from the afternoon as the Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘Amphan’ has intensified further into a Super Cyclonic Storm over the west-central and adjoining central parts of South Bay of Bengal.
Briefing the media, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Jena said the collectors of Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh and Gajapati have been asked to evacuate people living in kutcha, thatched, tiled and asbestos houses and staying within 5 km from the coastline to safer places.
Collectors have also been told to send the people kept in government quarantine centres to their homes (if they have pucca houses) if they have tested negative for Covid-19. The evacuation process will be intensified from Tuesday, he added.
The SRC also requested boat owners to fasten their boat with other boats with rubber padding so that they don’t get damaged due to collision. The small boat owners have been requested to bring back their boats to the shore.
Stating that NDRF and ODRAF teams have been deployed in these coastal districts, Jena informed that 30 Fire Service teams, with eight members each, have been requisitioned from other districts.
For post-cyclone restoration work, the PWD executive engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD), Rural Development and Water Resources departments have been advised to keep 10-20 teams with necessary equipment like dozer and JCB with labourers for repair and reconstruction of damaged roads.
For quick restoration of power supply, power distribution companies NESCO and CESU have been asked to keep their manpower and equipment ready.
The SRC also requested people to stay indoor and not come out of their house during the cyclone. Those staying in thatched and kutcha houses should seek the advice of local administration and shift to safer places with dry food and necessary documents relating to land, driving licence, etc.
He urged the people not to ride on their cycles, two and four-wheelers during the cyclone for their safety.
Health and Family Welfare and the Women and Child Development Departments have been told to shift women at an advanced stage of pregnancy immediately to nearby government hospitals.
