Cyclone Pethai: Andhra CM conducts review meeting

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], Dec 17 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday advised officials to take up a case study of cyclones with proper documentation to be well prepared to meet the future challenges during cyclones.
He further said electric poles should be geotagged to identify the damaged poles and restore them immediately.
The Chief Minister conducted a review meeting on cyclone Pethai at the Real Time Governance centre at Secretariat and said officials should be able to gauge the probable damage basing on wind velocity in advance to take up relief measures immediately.
Earlier, district collectors of East Godavari, Visakhapatnam said crops in 14,000 hectares have been damaged and 300 sheep have died. They further said that the highest rainfall of 160 mm was recorded in Tallarevu.
As per officials, more than 2000 officials have been deployed in cyclone prone areas. The officials said that they organised a mock drill in cyclone-affected villages to bring awareness among people.
Principal Secretary Ajay Jain said, "379 electrical poles were damaged and 146 poles were restored so far. 89 33-kV substations were affected due to cyclone and majority of them were restored. 26000 metric tons of agricultural production was damaged."
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said irrigation officials should predict the inflows in reservoirs due to heavy rainfall to take necessary precautions. He said with the precautions taken by the state government, the damage was minimised during the cyclone.
Furthermore, Naidu said officials should gear up to take up relief measures in real time by preparing in advance with the previous experiences. He also advised collectors to pay attention to prevent post-cyclone communicable diseases including agency areas.
The Chief Minister congratulated 15 ministers, 51 IAS officers who discharged their duties successfully in cyclone-hit districts. (ANI)