Seawater entered two fishing settlements — Sooradapeta and Jagaraipeta — which stand on the shoreline of Uppada beach near Kakinada city in East Godavari district.
Water began entering these two habitations last evening owing to high tides due to change in the weather as cyclone Amphan is likely to make a landfall on the East Coast by May 20.
Surada Nageswara Rao, Uppada fisherfolk elder, told The Hindu, “Several hundreds of families will be affected due to high tides and the resulting entry of seawater into our houses. Water enters our habitation since much of the geo tube erected on the Uppada beachfront in recent years could not withstand the erosion and has broken into pieces.”
Mr. Rao added that majority of the houses in these two settlements are huts and thatched houses.
Shift to safer places
Kakinada Revenue Divisional Officer G. Chinni Krishna told The Hindu, “We have already stopped vehicular movement on the beach road, restricting the entry of any vehicle into the Uppada village and further avoid any untoward incident.”
Mr. Krishna added that the Police and Revenue staff have been deployed to monitor the situation on the ground, persuading the locals to shift to the safer places.
The locals have also been asked to move out of the beachfront to the nearby school and other shelter homes.
