Prime Minister Modi to conduct aerial survey of cyclone Hudhud affected AP areas today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit the cyclone Hudhud affected areas of Andhra Pradesh today afternoon, where he will undertake an aerial survey of the worst affected Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts.

He has instructed top officials to ensure that there is no bottleneck in relief and rescue work in the cyclone affected areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. He also asked them to continue to work closely with the affected states.

Prime Minister Modi, who reviewed the status of relief and rescue operations at a high-level meeting yesterday, emphasized the need to document learnings from this cyclone and to put in place more precise drills and disaster management plans, especially in areas which are prone to such disasters.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister was briefed on the extent of destruction including the damage to infrastructure like roads, railway lines, buildings, power and telecommunication lines.

He was also given an overview of the status of relief operations and steps taken to ensure supply of essential commodities including food, drinking water and fuel. The Prime Minister was informed that the extent of damage to standing crops shall be assessed over the next few days.

He also emphasized the need to document learnings from this cyclone and to put in place more precise drills and disaster management plans involving all stakeholders, especially in areas which are prone to such disasters.

Though some of the main roads have been cleared off uprooted trees and collapsed poles, the restoration work of the 15-kilometer long rail track near Elemanchili on the Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section is underway. The Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments have extended help by deploying men and material for rescue operations.