As expected the Helen cyclone's landfall occurred at 2.00 pm today in the district of Machilipatnam. The cyclone is travelling at a speed of 120 km per hour.
As precautionary steps were taken in advance no casualties were reported. 11000 people were evacuated to safe places. The Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has been reviewing the situation from time to time. He talked to the Collectors of East and West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur districts to gear up by opening relief camps and evacuations where necessary.
The ship Avantibai was sent to rescue the 20 fishermen trapped in the rough sea. They belong to East Godavari district. A helicopter is also kept ready by Navy to press into service if needed.
The National Disaster Management Agency deployed 20 rescue teams to help people in the flood affected areas.
-SriJa
