Andhra Pradesh gears up to face cyclone Helen; landfall likely by afternoon

Andhra Pradesh administration is fully geared up to face the severe cyclonic storm Helen over west- central Bay of Bengal which is likely to hit southern Andhra coast close to Machilipatnam in Krishna District this afternoon.

Under its influence, rainfall at most places, heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and isolated extremely heavy rainfall would occur over coastal Andhra during the next 48 hours, an official bulletin said on Thursday.

Storm surge of up to 1.5 metre high above astronomical tide would inundate low-lying areas of Guntur, Krishna, West and East Godavari districts at the time of landfall, it said.

Squally winds speed reaching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph would prevail along and off south Andhra Pradesh coast.

The wind speed would gradually increase up to gale wind speed of 100-110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph at the time of landfall over Guntur, Krishna, East and West Godavari districts.

The District Collectors have been asked to warn people about the likelihood of flash floods in streams and rivulets due to heavy rain. An emergency control room has been opened in Krishna District with phone numbers 08672-252572 and 08672-251077.

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have already been moved to Nellore and Prakasam districts. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has also rushed six teams to the region.