CENTRE KNOWS?bUT--(THANKS PIB.NIC.IN)

Ministry of Home Affairs
Centre providing all possible assistance to flood-hit Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka 20:3 IST The Centre is providing all possible assistance to Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka where incessant rains have caused severe floods in some areas. Union Home Secretary, Secretary (Border Management) and senior officers of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) are in constant touch with the State Authorities and other agencies. The situation is being monitored on round the clock basis by the Control Room of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). NDRF personnel deployed are engaged in large scale rescue and evacuation operations and distribution of food, drinking water and other relief items to the affected people in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Army, Navy and Air Force are also assisting in relief and rescue operations. Keeping in view the severity of the situation caused by heavy rains/floods, MHA has rushed NDRF personnel along with boats to the affected areas from Bhatinda, NOIDA, Pune, Arakkonam(Tamil Nadu) and Mundali (Orissa). In ANDHRA PRADESH, 694 water rescue trained personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) alongwith 173 inflatable motorized boats have been deployed in the districts of Kurnool(395 personnel + 89 boats), Krishna(163 personnel + 46 boats) and Mehboob Nagar (136 personnel + 38 boats) for rescue and relief operations. In addition, a team of 19 water rescue trained personnel and 20 inflatable boats from Palam airbase is being airlifted to Vijaywada (Krishna district) today. In KARNATAKA, 249 water rescue trained personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) along with 73 inflatable motorized boats have been deployed in the districts of Bagalkote(76 personnel + 19 boats), Raichur(71 personnel + 22 boats), Gadag(36 personnel + 13 boats) and Bijapur(66 personnel + 19 boats) for rescue and relief operations. In addition, 250 water rescue trained personnel and 60 inflatable boats of NDRF from Gandhinagar are in readiness to be airlifted based on the operational requirement and availability of the aircraft. As per information received from IMD, a low pressure area was formed on 28th September, 2009. It became well marked on 29th September and lay over the same area till 30th September. The system lay over west central Bay of Bengal and adjoining north coastal Andhra Pradesh & south coastal Orissa on 1st October and over Telangana & neighbourhood on 2nd and 3rd October. It became low pressure area today and lies over Telangana and adjoining Vidarbha. Under the influence of the system the westerlies along the west coast strengthened and consequently fairly widespread to widespread rainfall activity with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places has occurred over Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and along the west coast. Extremely heavy rainfall also occurred at isolated places along the west coast on 3rd October, 2009. Under the influence of approaching trough in middle and upper tropospheric westerlies and its interaction with the low pressure area, fairly widespread rainfall activity with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is likely over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, East Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana from 4th to 6th October, 2009. Fairly widespread rainfall activity is likely over Maharashtra, Telengana, Coastal Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands during the next 24 hours and decrease thereafter. Isolated heavy rainfall is likely over Vidarbha and Telangana during the next 24 hours. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over Madhya Pradesh, East Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands during the next 48 hours. *************** OK/PKM/MRS