VISHAKHAPATNAM/ HYDERABAD/ BHUBANESHWAR: A fisherman from Andhra Pradesh died while hundreds of people were evacuated, as cyclonic storm Gulab made landfall 20km north of Kalingapatnam on Sunday evening.
The cyclone whipped up gales smashing the coast at over 95 kmph. As Gulab uprooted huge trees and electricity poles, the twin states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana geared up to face the brunt of the cyclone.
Trains were cancelled and fishermen evacuated, as heavy rains with strong gales hit several areas in north coastal Andhra.
The storm is likely to move west-north-westwards and weaken into a deep depression on Monday morning, the met office said. Under its impact, heavy rainfall is likely in parts of Telangana, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.
The meteorological experts giving a forecast of heavy to very heavy rains in most parts of Telangana for the next three days.
Many parts of coastal and southern districts of Odisha also saw heavy rain. Odisha has already evacuated around one lakh people from vulnerable areas of the southern districts which are likely to be among the worst affected by the cyclonic storm.
CM Naveen Patnaik, who is in New Delhi on an official visit, took stock of the state’s preparedness during a meeting through video-link with senior state officials and collectors of 11 districts.
