A teenager was killed as heavy rains under the influence of cyclonic storm Jawad lashed Srikakulam district on Saturday, December 4. In Vajrapukotturu mandal, heavy winds uprooted a coconut tree that fell on 16-year-old Gorakala Indu, killing her instantly. More than 60 relief centres have been opened to lodge people from vulnerable areas, the Andhra Pradesh government said.
As Jawad weakened significantly and hovered towards the Odisha coast, the north coastal Andhra districts breathed easy. Though the weather remained overcast, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts did not experience much rain, data provided by the state government said. Srikakulam district, however, received a downpour of over 11 cm, with the Tekkali revenue division recording the maximum of up to 5.7 cm at isolated places.
State Fisheries Minister Seediri Appala Raju, who hails from Srikakulam district, visited the victim's family in the Palasa hospital and promised help.
The Srikakulam district administration opened 65 relief centres where a few hundred people from vulnerable areas were lodged. The Fisheries Minister visited relief camps in Palasa town and later oversaw the sanitation works.
District Collector L Srikesh Balaji visited Santhabommali mandal and inspected the relief camps and the food being provided to the accommodated persons. He asked them to be cautious and stay indoors till the storm subsided.
Meanwhile, the South Central Railway cancelled more than 60 Express trains on the east coast route on Saturday and Sunday in view of the cyclonic storm.
Eleven teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and three of the SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) were positioned in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam on Friday, December 3. Additionally, six Coast Guard teams and 10 Marine police teams were kept ready for emergency operations, according to Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy held a video conference with Collectors of the three north coastal districts and also East and West Godavari districts on December 3 and reviewed the situation. State Disaster Management Authority Commissioner K Kanna Babu explained that flooding of roads, inundation, uprooting of trees and water-logging in low-lying areas and closure of underpasses mainly in urban areas were expected under the impact of the cyclonic storm.