Relief camps set up in coastal districts, people to stay indoors

Madurai

Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management RB Udhayakumar said after reviewing cyclone preparedness at the Thoothukudi Collectorate that adequate relief shelters had been arranged in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari and Rameswaram. The shelters can accommodate 1.92 lakh people.

Thirty-six locations have been identified as vulnerable in Thoothukudi and people residing in low lying areas have been asked to move to relief shelters. Of the 7,505 lake in total across southern districts, 985 were in full capacity.

Further, the Minister sought the cooperation from people and urged them to remain indoors until the cyclone crossed over. People have been advised not to approach water bodies and take selfies. He added that all fishermen belonging to Kanniyakumari district were safe and officials concerned were monitoring the situation.

The fishermen had been issued a cyclone warning with the help of the Indian Coast Guard and through sat phones. In Ramanathapuram district alone, 1,200 fishing boats had returned to the safety of the shores, the minister said.

Minister for Information and Publicity, Kadambur C Raju said all fishermen of Thoothukudi district were safe. Thoothukudi Collector K Senthil Raj, Monitoring Officer for Thoothukudi Kumar Jayant, Superintendent of Police S Jeyakumar and officials from Departments of Revenue, Fire and Rescue, PWD and Health attended the review meeting, sources said.