Raipur:
After threatening people for the whole night in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh cyclone Phailin’s intensity has come down to 90-100 Kmph in Gopalpur area.
‘’Intensity of cyclone reduced to 90-100 Kmph in Odisha's Gopalpur,’’ said NDMA chief M Shashidhar Reddy Reddy.
Cyclone Phailin had struck Odisha’s Gopalpur coast at around 9 pm on Saturday evening with a whopping windspeed of 200 Kmph.
The 'eye' or centre of the cyclone is estimated to be 15 kilometers 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.
"The intensity of the storm is likely to continue for six hours that is until Sunday morning. The eye of the cyclone is approximately 15 kilometres, which means it will takearound one hour to cross the coast," according to L S Rathore, Director General (metrology) of IMD.
Five people were reportedly killed in Odisha in the heavy rains ahead of the storm. Of them, three persons, including a woman, were killed after uprooted trees fell on them in the state capital and at Khalikote and Polsara in Ganjam district, police said.
IMD Director General L S Rathore also mentioned that there will be moderate rains for 12 to 24 hours in large part of east India.
He denied that 'Phailin' was a super cyclone. In Andhra Pradesh, 1,29,100 people from 294 villages in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts have been shifted to 115 relief camps. AP Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy late tonight reviewed the impact of the cyclone and directed the entire official machinery in the north coastal districts to remain on high alert through the night.
(With PTI inputs)
