The deep depression in North Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood intensified into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday and is likely to cross Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast on October 12.
With the focus now shifting from disaster mitigation of cyclone to flood relief, the defence ministry on Monday said it has pressed four helicopters into service to evacuate the marooned local population as well as to drop relief materials to Phailin hit areas.
This keeps the American aircraft giant on track to deliver five of the large, versatile military transport aircraft to the IAF this year, and five more in 2014.
Bhubaneswar airport too bracing itself for emergency and contingency plans have been drawn up.
Berhampur, the biggest city in southern Odisha, on Monday looked like a war zone as Cyclone Phailin left behind a trail of destruction. The cyclone accompanied by heavy rain hit Gopalpur, about 15 km from Behrampur, and battered the city and its nearby areas.
At least 10 persons, including four cops, were injured when police resorted to lathicharge on Tuesday to chase away a mob protesting alleged diversion of kerosene meant for relief at Chikiti in Odisha's cyclone-hit Ganjam district.
He raised the issue while mocking at the excavation being conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh after a saint said he had dreamt about 1000 tonnes of gold being underneath at a place there.
Very heavy rains are expected over north Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim in the next 48 hours, with cyclonic storm Phailin now closer to the Chattisgarh-Odisha border, the National Disaster Management Authority has said.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the Indian Air Force choppers and aircraft and the two navy ships are placed in close proximity to the eastern coastline and would be deployed for rescue and relief operations.
The RBI Governor also reiterated his reservation against repeated loan waivers by various state governments, saying the move distorts credit pricing, thereby also disrupting the credit market.
The successful effort to combat Cyclone Phailin threatens to put disaster mitigation, and a fundamental overhaul of how disaster management in India is structured, on the back-burner, says Anand Sarkar.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said rehabilitation is a big challenge for the state government as property valued at several crore of rupees was lost in the cyclone.
The 'eye' or centre of the cyclone is estimated to be 15 km in spread so it will take nearly an hour to cross the coast completely, officials said adding that the impact of the storm will be maximum for the next six hours
With better preparedness and efficient planning and execution, toll restricted to a low level. Lesson from 1999 cyclone helped.
At least 34 people were killed during Cyclone Fani, which barrelled through coastal Odisha on Friday last, causing widespread destruction and leaving hundreds grappling with water shortage and power cut.
In his address at a conference of state secretaries, Rajan stressed the need to strengthen state-level coordination committees by ensuring participation, conducting meetings more frequently and sharing quality information among all stakeholders, including state government agencies.
India's manufacturing sector activity contracted for the third straight month in October amid falling levels of production and new orders, as the business climate within the country remained tough, an HSBC survey said on Friday.
he feels they are prone to misuse by borrowers, including farmers, and suggested a rate ceiling for loans by micro finance lenders.
Hinting that the ruling Biju Janata Dal might be a part of the proposed Third Front in the 2014 general elections, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday 1dubbed the Congress "corrupt" and the Bharatiya Janata Party "communal".
The Odisha government on Friday said it would prepare a memorandum to seek central assistance in the next two days for relief and restoration works in the cyclone and flood affected districts, even as the death toll in the twin calamities mounted to 44.
Congress on Monday appeared to claim credit for effective handling of cyclone 'Phailin', saying all steps are being taken under its rule to make the country "disaster-resilient" which was evident from the Indian Meteorological Department's accurate prediction and "record" evacuation of over one million people in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
A red-and-white striped lighthouse standing on the popular beach at Gopalpur in Odisha was the lone witness to the fury of the severe cyclone Phailin that virtually drove everyone in this tiny village to desert their homes for the safety of relief shelters.
Carrying their baggage, thousands of people are leaving the port town of Paradip to escape the wrath of the severe cyclonic storm 'Phailin' which is expected to make landfall in Odisha in less than 24 hours.
The 1986 batch Odisha cadre IPS officer has been described as a competent officer and is known for his acumen in handling disasters.
Heavy rainfall and high speed wind has badly affected normal life in Bihar in last 24 hours because of cyclonic storm Phailin impact of cyclonic storm. "More heavy rains are expected in Bihar in next 24 hours," a met department official said.
On Saturday, as the sky over Gopalpur gets darker, the howling wind stronger and the waves rise higher, the spectre of death and devastation looms large with most inhabitants having fled fearing cyclone Phailin which is expected to make land fall here.
As Andhra Pradesh braces to face a cyclone, political activity continues in the background. According to sources, two key leaders of the Congress -- Lagadapati Rajgopal and Rayapati Sambasiva Rao -- are in touch with YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy with an intention of joining his party.
Nearly a month after MV Seam Guard Ohio, a ship owned by an American security firm and headed to Sierra Leone, was intercepted in Indian waters, authorities are no closer to finding answers to any of the questions they have about the ship and its mysterious crew members.
Two thermal power stations at Vijayawada and Kadapa went into steam on Friday as power employees in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh resumed work after calling off their indefinite strike "temporarily" in view of cyclonic storm Phailan.
Generally, a district collector declares crops in his area as being affected due to a catastrophe, which automatically triggers favourable treatment of bank loans, under which the affected dud loans are not treated as bad loans, Rajan said.
Cyclone Hudhud has moved closer to the cost of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and will turn into a severe cyclonic storm in next 12 hours, the India Meteorological Department said.
Cyclone 'Phailin', which was to make landfall two days from now, possibly near Gopalpur in Odisha and in north Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday intensified into a severe cyclonic storm travelling slightly northwest and lying about 800 km from Paradip in Odisha.
'Evacuation' has been key to disaster management in Odisha. The aim is to achieve zero casualty.
The India Meteorological Department said rainfall would be accompanied by gale wind speed reaching 140 to 150 kmph and gusting to 165 kmph along and off Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coasts.
Cyclone Hudhud is set to intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm in the next 12 hours before it makes landfall on October 12.
If you live in Delhi you can quit smoking, give up alcohol, go to bed early, exercise every day and eat right, but unless you also give up breathing, you can still get very sick, says Mitali Saran
A clean sweep for the BJP and the emergence of the AAP do not look good for the Congress, which now faces a serious leadership crisis, says Bharat Bhushan
Orissa learnt its lessons from previous cyclones, particularly the 1999 super cyclone, whereas Uttarakhand has failed to do so from any of the previous natural calamities that hit the state, says Dinesh C Sharma.
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