'Cyclone Lehar' travelling at 150 kmph, evacuations started

Keeping in mind the possibility of Cyclone Lehar hitting the coast of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday afternoon, the process of evacuation has been started. The cyclone is reported to be traveling at a speed of approximately 150 kilometers per hour.

“It is likely to hit tomorrow afternoon. It is traveling at a speed of approximately 150 kilometers per hour, which in itself, is very high,” said C Parthasarathy, State Disaster Management Commissioner on Wednesday.

“According to the IMD’s (Indian Meteorological Department’s) latest forecast this morning, it has been stated that “Cyclone Lehar” has changed its direction and will possibly hit somewhere near Machilipatnam. It may not change its direction again. We had to change our forces deployment strategies because of this,” he said.

“Until yesterday, we were focusing on (the) Krishna, West and East Godavari regions, but today, we have expanded our efforts to cover Guntur District also,” he said.

“We have started evacuating places, which will be severely affected from today onwards. The home ministry has assured full cooperation to the state,” he added.