Cyclone Jawad: PM Directs Officials for Safe Evacuation Measures
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday directed the officials concerned to take all necessary measures to ensure safe evacuation of people, in the wake of Cyclone Jawad.
The direction of the Prime Minister came during a high-level meeting chaired by him here to review the preparedness of States and Central Ministries and concerned agencies to deal with the situation arising out of the likely formation of Cyclone Jawad, as per a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) here.
He also directed for maintenance of all essential services, such as power, telecommunication, health and drinking water, adding that they should be restored immediately in the event of any disruption.
The PM further directed them to ensure adequate storage of essential medicines and supplies and to plan for unhindered movement, besides 24×27 functioning of control rooms, added the statement.
It said, The “India Meteorological Department (IMD) has informed that low pressure region in the Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into Cyclone Jawad and reach the coast of North Andhra Pradesh-Odisha around Saturday morning, with the wind speed ranging up to 100 kmph. It is likely to cause heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. IMD has been issuing regular bulletins with the latest forecast to all the concerned states.”
The Cabinet Secretary has reviewed the situation and preparedness with Chief Secretaries of all the coastal states and Central Ministries/ Agencies concerned, the PMO said.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs is reviewing the situation 24×27 and is in touch with the State Governments/ UTs and the Central Agencies concerned. MHA has already released the first installment of SDRF in advance to all states. NDRF has pre-positioned 29 teams, which are equipped with boats, tree-cutters and telecom equipment in the states and has kept 33 teams on standby,” it added.
The PMO said, “The Indian Coast Guard and the Navy have deployed ships and helicopters for relief, search and rescue operations. Air Force and Engineer task force units of the Army, with boats and rescue equipment, are on standby for deployment. Surveillance aircraft and helicopters are carrying out serial surveillance along the coast. Disaster Relief teams and Medical Teams are standby at locations along the eastern coast.
“The Ministry of Power has activated emergency response systems and is keeping in readiness transformers, DG sets and equipment for immediate restoration of electricity. The Ministry of Communication is keeping all the telecom towers and exchanges under constant watch and is fully geared to restore telecom networks.
“The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an advisory to the States/ UTs, likely to be affected, for health sector preparedness and response to Covid-19 in affected areas,” it added.
The Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways has taken measures to secure all shipping vessels and deployed emergency vessels, it said, adding that the states have also been asked to alert the industrial establishments, such as chemical and petrochemical units near the coast.
NDRF is assisting the state agencies in their preparedness for evacuating people from the vulnerable locations and also continuously holding community awareness campaigns on how to deal with the cyclonic situation, said the statement, adding that the Principal Secretary to the PM, the Cabinet Secretary, the Home Secretary, the NDRF DG and the IMD DG attended the meeting.
