Cyclone Titli creates havoc in Gajapati, Ganjam Districts

ONI Bureau:  Cyclone Titli made landfall near Palasa in Srikakulum district of Andhra Pradesh, between 4.30 am to 5.30 am on Thursday morning, about 40km from Gopalpur of Odisha.

126 kmph wind lashing Odisha coast of Gopalpur, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said today.

Ganjam and Gajapati districts have been worst affected as road communication hit, several trees and electric poles were uprooted at different places due to Cyclone Titli. ODRAF Teams, Odisha Police, Odisha Fire Services personnel & Volunteers at work, said Special Relief Commissioner Bishnupada Sethi.

Heavy rains with wind speed of 80-90kmph reported in the region. Many areas remain without mobile network till date.

However, 8 districts including Ganjam, Khurda, Gajapati, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Balasore have been affected more due to the cyclonic storm Titli, the SRC said.

As many as 13 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams have been deployed to various areas.

While over 3 lakh people were evacuated from various coastal districts in south Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh, as many as 10,000 people were shifted to relief camps.