Cyclone kills 10 in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR, Oct 18 (PTI) — At least 16 persons were killed, more than 500 villages affected and telecommunication, rail and road traffic thrown out of gear in Orissa as a severe cyclone with gale speed of 200 kmph hit the state’s southern coast early this morning.

Official sources said the worst-hit Ganjam district, cut off from the rest of the state, sent an SOS to the government seeking Army help and accounted for six deaths, followed by three and one in Khurda and Puri districts, respectively.

Andhra Pradesh escaped the fury of the storm, but heavy rain accompanied with high velocity wind lashed Kalingapatnam and other places in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Vishakapatnam districts bordering Orissa.

Three persons were seriously injured when a tree fell on them near Balugaon in Puri district.

The District Collector of coastal Jagatsinghpur district, Nitin Chandra, said about 500 houses were damaged in two blocks of Balikuda and Naugam in the accompanying heavy rain since Saturday.

Power supply and telecom network had been completely thrown out of gear in Ganjam district because of which little information was trickling in, the sources said.

A report said the Rushikulya river in Ganjam was flowing above the danger mark at 16.85 mts at Purushottampur and was likely to rise to a level of 18.50 m by evening.

Scores of uprooted trees blocked NH-5, connecting Calcutta with Chennai, at innumerable places. Besides, South-Eastern Railway services on the east coast were also disrupted.

Several Howrah-bound long-distance trains were rescheduled or controlled at various stations, the official reports said.

Itchapuram and Parampura in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, which narrowly escaped the brunt of the storm, were the worst affected as both road and rail networks were damaged following the heavy rain.

The Andhra State Electricity Board suffered a loss of approximately Rs 50 lakh following extensive damage to electricity poles and power substations.

The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, spoke to the Chief Minister, Mr Giridhar Gamang, over the phone and enquired about the extent of the damage. He also assured Mr Gamang of necessary Central assistance to meet the situation. Mr Gamang later said that a Central team would visit the state soon to assess the extent of damage.

The AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, also rang up the Chief Minister, enquiring about the steps taken by the government.

CALCUTTA: Around 10,000 people have been rendered homeless as a drifted cyclone unleashed heavy rain in its trail, inundating vast areas of West Bengal since Sunday night.

The rain, which lashed north Bengal, coastal districts and the metropolis, continued till Monday evening with weatherman forecasting heavy rainfall all over the state, particularly in the Gangetic plains during the next 48 hours.

Large parts of North 24 Parganas, including Barrackpore and Basirhat, were inundated by fresh rain, rendering at least 10,000 people homeless, district reports said.

NEW DELHI: A five-year programme has been prepared to effectively combat cyclonic havoc in the northern Indian Ocean region by developing necessary infrastructures for sure and timely storm surge forecasts and warnings.

The project, aimed at saving lives and property, would make substantial contributions to encourage investment for sustainable coastal development and to significantly reducing the aggravation of poverty caused by storm surge disasters in the region, official sources said here today.

A revised draft proposal on the project has been prepared jointly by the Inter-governmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), UNESCO and the International Hydrological Programme (IHP).