With Cyclone Jawad likely to strike north Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, the state government has evacuated over 54,008 people from three districts.
The rescue team has evacuated 15,755 people from Srikakulam district, 1,700 from Vizianagaram and 36,553 from Visakhapatnam.
The government has set up 197 relief camps in schools and community halls. Eleven teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), five teams of the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) and six teams of Coast Guard have been deployed in the areas where the cyclone is expected to hit. Two helicopters are on standby for carrying out rescue missions.
Village secretaries and District collectorates will function throughout the night.
According to the Meteorological Department (IMD) the cyclonic storm is likely to move north-northwestwards till Saturday morning, and then recurve north northeastward reaching Puri coast around December 5 noon.
Going by the projected trajectory of the cyclone, as issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the system may strike the Puri coast and return to the sea, he told, adding that winds gusting at 90-100 kmph will likely impact the district at landfall, Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena told journalists in Bhubaneswar.
The speed may gradually decrease after touching the Odisha coast, he said.
"There's also a possibility of the cyclonic system changing its course avoiding landfall in Odisha. It could just pass along the coastline, with Puri experiencing a rub-off effect," he added.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy held a review meeting with collectors of cyclone-prone districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari. The chief minister directed the officials to alert people and ensure that there was no loss of life in the coastal region.
