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A massive cyclone came ashore along the eastern coast of India about 9 p.m. Saturday, flooding homes throughout the region and leading to the evacuations of more than 800,000 people, one of the largest such evacuations in India’s history. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY///
Update..Using trucks and buses, authorities evacuated more than 260,000 people from dozens of vulnerable villages in coastal Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to government-run shelters, schools and buildings. More than 1 lakh were evacuated from Odisha's Ganjam district ---the most vulnerable to Phailin’s landfall -- alone.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy late on Friday night spoke to collectors of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts to review the administration's preparedness, as a red alert has been sounded in view of the cyclone.
Odisha special relief commissioner Pradeep Kumar Mohapatra said about 5 lakh were expected to move to shelters in the state.
Besides 280 multi-purpose cyclone shelters in the vulnerable districts, about 10,000 concrete schools have been converted into temporary cyclone shelters to house the evacuated people. These shelters have been stocked with food items, medicines and auto fuels.
National Disaster Management Authority vice-chairman M Shashidhar Reddy said 23 NDRF teams were assisting local administrations and more were on standby. “Around 1.2 crore people are expected to be affected,” he said, adding that parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal could also be hit.
The Centre has constituted 30 quick response medical teams to be moved in at short notice