Phethai is presently centered near latitude 11.3°N and longitude 84.4°E, about 465 km east-northeast of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, 480 km east-southeast of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 640 km south-southeast of Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh and 670 km south-southeast Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.
Read more: Cyclone Phethai: Heavy to very heavy rains in Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Ongole, Kavali for 48 hrs
Phethai is likely to make landfall over the coats of Andhra Pradesh between Machilipatnam and Kakinada by the afternoon of December 17. This has put Andhra Pradesh on alert, wherein coastal areas would encounter heavy to very heavy rains with some extremely heavy showers on December 16 and 17.
Squally winds of 90-100 kmph gusting upto 110 kmph is likely at the time of landfall. In fact, at present also, high velocity winds to the tune of 70-80 kmph can be witnessed along the coast.
Must Watch: Cloud build up of Cyclone Phethai in less than 30 seconds
The low-lying areas are likely to face inundation but more than rains, it would be high velocity winds which would cause destruction. Districts under major threat are East and West Godavari, Vishakhapatnam, Krishna and Guntur.
To avoid any untoward instances, the state authorities have already deployed several teams of NDRF (National Disaster Rescue Force) along with State Disaster Rescue Force in these districts for evacuation and rescue operations.
Several schools have also been shut in wake of the cyclone threat. We can expect major damage to kutcha houses and roads as well. Uprooting of trees and snapping of electric poles is very likely.
Not only this, damage to paddy crops, banana, papaya trees and orchards is also expected.
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