Cyclone Hudhud is rapidly gaining strength and has entered the range of Cyclone Detection Radar stationed at Vishakhapatnam along the east coast of India. Hudhud is currently moving at a speed of 10 kmph and could make landfall near Visakhapatnam before Sunday noon.
With a speed of 180 kmph at the core and gusting at 200 kmph, Hudhud is demonstrating strength equivalent to CAT II storm but could strengthen to CAT IV just before landfall.
Satellite imagery depicts that the cloud band is still getting tightened and the system seems to be consolidating by every hour. The cloud top temperature at present is (-53°C), depicting heavy showers along the coastal areas.
Visakhapatnam witnessed dark clouds since Saturday morning and began receiving rain since mid-noon. Around 400 villages in Andhra Pradesh are expected to face the cyclone fury.
Precautions taken in Andhra Pradesh
- More than 390 villages located along the Andhra coast have been evacuated.
- Lakhs of people have been shifted to relief camps.
- Boats, satellite phones and swimmers have been positioned across the districts of Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Vizianagram and Srikakulam .
According to media reports, NDRF teams comprising of more than 1680 rescuers have been positioned. Moreover, enough life-saving equipment have been deployed in various parts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to meet any kind of challenges.
