Amaravati, Nov 7 (PTI) RTGS CEO Prakhar Jain on Saturday said close coordination with the APSDMA helped Andhra Pradesh handle two cyclones in six days through timely warnings, evacuations, rescue and restoration work.
"Real Time Governance Society and Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority worked in close coordination to ensure a coordinated response to two cyclones that struck the state within six days. The combined efforts helped streamline early warnings, evacuation, rescue operations and restoration of essential services," Jain told PTI.
Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab crossed the coast near Narsapur on October 28, while Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu made landfall near Ongole on November 3, he said.
The two systems affected more than 5.2 lakh people, inundated over 4.7 lakh hectares of crops and claimed 14 lives.
By November 7, almost all damaged assets, such as power infrastructure, telecom towers, roads and drinking water facilities, had been restored, he said, adding that restoration work had begun before Cyclone Arnab struck.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed preparedness from the RTGS centre and directly interacted with field officials during both cyclones, Jain said.
Around 32,000 officials joined a teleconference during Arnab and nearly 45,000 field staff before Murasu.
The Chief Secretary and the Revenue (Disaster Management) Department coordinated orders and funding, while APSDMA’s State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) handled warnings and rescue coordination.
District collectors and around 10,000 village and ward secretariats implemented measures locally, identifying vulnerable households, issuing alerts, evacuating people and livestock, running relief camps and arranging supplies, he said.
The India Meteorological Department issued its first landfall forecast for Arnab on October 22, six days before arrival, and a Red Message on October 26. For Murasu, the Red Message came on November 1, about 37 hours before landfall, prompting the SEOC and RTGS to activate emergency arrangements, Jain said.
More than 14 crore mobile alerts were sent through the Common Alerting Protocol and targeted cell broadcast systems, comprising over 8.2 crore during Arnab and 5.8 crore across 18 districts during Murasu.
“We have used targeted cell broadcasts, SMS, television and voice messages to communicate warnings, crop advisories and safety instructions to communities in vulnerable locations,” Jain said. During Arnab, crop advisories reached 35.9 lakh farmers by SMS, while voice alerts went to 3.9 lakh fishermen and aquaculture farmers.
Before Arnab, 34,716 people were moved to safety, and 81,366 were accommodated in 1,109 relief camps, while Murasu shelters housed another 23,584, he said.
A total of 6,166 pregnant women were shifted to healthcare facilities, 3,100 ahead of Arnab and 3,066 before Murasu.
Holidays were declared for 29,385 schools, 58,616 schools were monitored, and 316 welfare hostels were vacated. The government moved 70,286 animals to safer places and arranged 291 livestock shelters. People were advised to stay indoors during landfall.
All 30,043 fishing boats were brought ashore before Arnab, with 92 given safe anchorage in Odisha. Ahead of Murasu, 12,967 of 12,968 boats had returned by November 2, and the Coast Guard was asked to search for the remaining one.
For Arnab, 16 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and 11 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were deployed across 14 districts. For Murasu, 13 NDRF and 11 SDRF teams were positioned, with three additional NDRF teams from Tamil Nadu stationed at Singarayakonda.
Fire services personnel attended 2,332 calls and rescued 31 people during Arnab, and attended 439 calls and rescued 335 during Murasu.
Medical preparedness for Arnab involved the deployment of 1,057 medical teams, 8,370 emergency beds and 1,335 ambulances, while 947 medical camps treated 6,030 patients, he said.
For Murasu, 725 medical teams and 807 ambulances were deployed across 13 districts.
Power utilities deployed more than 8,400 restoration personnel before Arnab. During Murasu, the Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited (APEPDCL) fielded 5,885 personnel and the Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Corporation Limited (APCPDCL) 3,192, with around 500 each from Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka assisting, Jain said.
Water Resources officials monitored 33,026 tanks before Murasu, with 1,022 drinking water tankers and 2,332 reverse osmosis plants arranged. The Civil Supplies Department stocked 14,686 fair price shops with two months’ rations and released November allocations early.
Technology supported the response through vehicle tracking, drones, satellite imagery and grievance reporting, Jain said. A dashboard monitored 18,360 vehicles during Arnab, when 75 drones were used. Plans for Murasu included 140 survey drones and 70 cargo drones across nine districts.
After Murasu, satellite mapping by the National Remote Sensing Centre estimated that 36,901 hectares across 20 mandals in Bapatla district were inundated, with Parchur, Karamchedu and Inkollu among the worst hit.
The Mana Mitra WhatsApp service let citizens report fallen trees, power disruptions and waterlogging. It received over 1,500 complaints during Arnab, more than 95 per cent of them resolved.
The government released Rs 27 crore for immediate relief after Arnab and spent Rs 108.4 crore on relief measures. Another Rs 37 crore was released for Murasu, and interim assistance has been sought from the Centre.
An Inter-Ministerial Central Team, briefed at the RTGS centre, sought details of Mana Mitra’s real-time grievance redressal mechanism and commended the state’s response to both cyclones.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)