Severe Cyclonic Storm 'Michaung' crosses south AP Coast; 1 killed

Hyderabad: The Severe Cyclonic Storm “Michaung” (pronounced as Migjaum) over westcentral Bay of Bengal near south Andhra Pradesh coast moved northwards with a speed of 11 kmph during the past 6 hours and crossed south Andhra Pradesh coast close to south of Baptla during 1230 to1430 hours on Tuesday afternoon as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kmph.

In a bulletin, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said , It lay centered at 1430 hours today, over south coastal Andhra Pradesh near latitude 15.8°N and longitude 80.3°E, about 15 km southwest of Baptla and 40 km northeast of Ongole.

The system is likely to move nearly northwards and weaken into a cyclonic storm during the next 2 hours, the bulletin added.

A UNI report from Vijayawada said the Severe Cyclonic Storm Michaung created havoc in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema districts with incessant rains and heavy gales. Coastal AP districts including Nellore, Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna, West Godavari, East Godavari and Kadapa and Tirupati in Rayalaseema have been battered by the Michaung cyclone as loss of crop, property and loss of life have been reported.

A constable was killed when an uprooted tree fell on him in the combined Kadapa district.There has been incessant rains in most places in Nellore, Prakasam and Guntur districts since Monday evening under the influence of Michaung cyclone and normal life was thrown out of gear. Several villages in the districts were plunged into darkness due to power failure.

Uprooting of a large number of electric poles and trees were reported from the districts. Warning 10 has been sounded in Nizampatnam and Krishnapatnam ports.According to official sources, over 10,000 people were shifted to relief camps in the cyclone affected districts.

The flight services were cancelled at the Gannavaram airport near here and in Visakhapatnam airport. The NDRF and SDRF teams were deployed to the affected districts to swung into action if needed. The horticulture crop including banana, papaya, betel leaf, mango and vegetable crops were badly damaged in Kadapa district.

The worst affected due to the Michaung cyclone are paddy farmers. The paddy crop was damaged in lakhs of acres.

The paddy farmers in these districts were preparing for harvest and the incessant rains damaged the standing crop. The farmers who have already harvested their paddy crop were seen saving their produce by wrapping plastic sheets. (UNI)