Madhurima
NEW DELHI: The National Crisis Management Committee or the NCMC, headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, in its third meeting on Tuesday stressed on "timely and complete evacuation" of individuals from low lying areas coming in the path of cyclone ''Amphan'' which is predicted to impact West Bengal and Odisha coasts on Wednesday.
Reviewing the preparedness of the states and Central agencies, Gauba asked the state governments to make sure timely and complete evacuation of individuals from low lying areas and maintain adequate quantities of essential supplies like food, drink and medicines, a Home Ministry statement said.
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They were also advised that teams for road clearance and other restoration work be kept ready as very high wind speeds ranging up to 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph are expected amid heavy rainfall and storm surges of 4-5 metres within the coastal districts of the 2 states.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated within the meeting that ''Amphan'' is predicted to impact the West Bengal coast by May 20 afternoon or evening and districts of East Medinipur, South and North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, and Kolkata are expected to be impacted.
The damage potential of the cyclone is predicted to be more than that of cyclone ''Bulbul'', which hit the West Bengal Coast on November 9 last year. The cyclone also will bring heavy rainfall, squally winds and storm surge in the coastal districts of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Balasore in Odisha.
Chief Secretary Odisha and additional Chief Secretary West Bengal apprised the NCMC of preparatory measures taken by them.
Attending the NCMC meeting through video conferencing, the officials of the 2 states informed that evacuation of individuals from the low lying areas was being administered.
"All actions are taken to stock food grains, water and other essential supplies. Teams for maintenance and restoration of Power and Telecom services have also been positioned," NCMC was informed.
It was apprised that 36 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were currently deployed in both the states, rescue and relief teams of the military and Navy alongside ships and aircraft of the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard had been placed on standby. Officials from agencies of the Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Power also are deployed within the states to make sure the upkeep of essential services.
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Senior Officers from the Ministries of Home Affairs, Defence, Shipping, Power, Telecommunications, Health, IMD, NDMA and NDRF also attended the meeting.NCMC will meet again to take stock of the emerging situation. The weather agency has issued an orange alert for coastal West Bengal and Odisha, where it said widespread damage is predicted. The super cyclone Amphan is now being continuously tracked by the Doppler weather radar (DWR) at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
