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| Cyclone 'Phyan': Eight states, three UTs on alert |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Nov 11, 2009, 20:58 IST |
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As the sea became rough due to cyclonic storm 'Phyan', the Home Ministry today put on alert five coastal states and three Union Territories and sent disaster relief response force for their assistance.
Ministry of Defence has also alerted the Air Force.
Assessing the impact of the movement of the cyclone, the Home Ministry sent advisories to Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra besides Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep to be on alert.
Eight such advisories have been sent to the states and UTs so far, a Home Ministry spokesperson said.
A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also been sent to Kothagiri in the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu where a school has been marooned following heavy rains.
Following the movement of this cyclonic depression and the consequential heavy rainfall caused by it, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) battalions in Maharashtra and Gujarat have been put on the alert.
Simultaneously, to meet any emergent requirement of rescue and relief, the NDRF teams comprising about 400 trained personnel with boats and other equipments, have been pre-positioned in Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Another 200 men have been kept in readiness for Mumbai.
Meanwhile, the movement of a depression in the central Arabian sea region since early yesterday morning is being watched very closely by the India Meteorological Department.
The Goa report, quoting Coast Guard's Commandant A K Saxena, said an aircraft has been commissioned for search and rescue operations.
In Maharashtra, the Navy and Coast Guard rescued 24 persons, including eight fishermen, off the Ratnagiri and Mumbai coasts from the rough Arabian sea.
While eight fishermen, including a minor, who had ventured into the choppy sea ignoring the warnings of a cyclonic storm were rescued off Ratnagiri coast in the Konkan region with the help of navy's Chetak helicopter, 16 crew members of two vessels were saved by the Coast Guard from Bombay High, an off-shore oilfield 160 km off Mumbai coast, Capt. M Nambiar, a defence ministry spokesman, said.
Despite the possibility of the cyclone's weakening, fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea.
Educational institutions in Mumbai and Thane as also all offices in the Maharashtra capital were shut down for the day this afternoon as a precautionary step following a review meeting chaired by state's Chief Secretary Johnny Joseph.
As the cyclone was expected to cause heavy to very heavy rain and high-speed winds, the BMC personnel in coastal and low-lying areas have been asked to be on alert, BMC Additional Commissioner Rajeev said.
Apart from BMC's rescue teams, army and navy officials have also been alerted, he said, adding six rescue teams have been deployed at vulnerable locations like Geeta Nagar, Worli, Koliwada, Kurla, Sagar Kutir and Nariman Baug.
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