Cyclone threat; Control rooms opened in Krishna district

Vijayawada,May 19: With the cyclonic storm 'Laila' over southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal likely to cross between Ongole and Visakhapatnam by tomorrow afternoon, control rooms have been set up at Krishna District Collectorate in Machilipatnam and in the sub-collector's office here to enable people to contact in the event of exigency.Official sources told UNI here today that control rooms have also been set up at Revenue Divisional offices and Tahsildar offices across the district following an alert from the meteorological department.People could contact the control room phone nos 08672-252399 and 252486, mobile nos: 09908664635 and 9849903982 at Machilipatnam and at the sub-collector office in Vijayawada--0866-2574454 and 2576217.The sources said two battalions of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had reached the district where some of them would be stationed in the city to rescue people, if necessary.Warning signal seven was hoisted at Machilipatnam port yesterday. The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) bulletin said strong winds with a speed of 70 km to 80 kmph was likely along the coast in the district for the next 72 hours and the height of tidal waves was likely to be 1.5 metres.
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