Cyclone Hudhud: 26 dead in AP, 3 in Odisha

Almost 48 hours after Cyclone Hudhud, 12 districts in Andhra Pradesh remain in darkness. At least 26 people have lost their lives in Andhra Pradesh and three have been reported dead in Odisha while 4 lakh people have been evacuated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Visakhapatnam to take stock of the situation. The Vizag airport has been reopened for relief operations but the city remains in complete darkness. The prices of essential goods is soaring with a bottle of water being sold for Rs 250. ATMs are not working and petrol pumps are running dry. "The communication lines are down. When we talk to Air India officials, they don't tell us about our flight status. When we ask the security guards, they are asking us to return after a month," said a local in Visakhapatnam. "I don't know how long we will be stuck here. We are not getting any information anywhere. Railway stations are all shut. Highways are also shut. There nothing to eat also," another local said. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, "Extensive house damage has been reported from certain southern districts. Energy infrastructure has been badly affected in Koraput, Raigarh, Navranpur and Malkangiri districts. Restoration work going on and road clearance will be completed by this afternoon." "We have evacuated 2,33,000 people. Today, we will provide them noon meal and those who are willing, they can go back and those who have lost their houses, I have ordered the collectors to immediately provide them polythene sheets and send them back," said PK Mahapatra, Relief Commissioner, Bhubaneswar.