Cyclone Hudhud’s toll mounts to 22; Visakhaptanam is a city in ruins

HYDERABAD/VISAKHAPATNAM: The severity of destruction caused by Cyclone Hudhud emerged a day after it ravaged coastal Andhra Pradesh with human fatalities reaching a grim 22 on Monday. Fifteen people were killed in Visakhapatnam, six in Vizianagaram and one in Srikakulam, said government spokesman Parakala Prabhakar, adding that more than 6,600 houses were destroyed and 1,780 animals had perished. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will survey the cyclone-affected districts on Tuesday from air after meeting chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam in the afternoon. He'll be confronted with a dreadful sight, of buildings with their frontages knocked out as if pounded by mortars, and rubble strewn all over the roads. Trees, electricity and telephone poles have been flattened all over. Hospitals are packed with people seeking refuge and essentials like food and water, apart from a sliver of power to charge their phones. There are long queues of anxious people outside groceries, milk booths and petrol pumps, with many complaining of fleecing by vendors who are charging up to Rs 80 for a litre of milk and other essential commodities. It forced Naidu to appeal to retailers to stop swindling the cyclone-ravaged citizens and charge only MRP. But no one apparently listened. A10-litre can of drinking water sold for Rs 2,500 even as petrol pumps rationed one litre per customer. Krishna Rao of Maddilapalem said: "Shopkeepers have increased prices. Overnight the cost of milk has shot up to Rs 60-80 per litre." Meanwhile, shoplifters ripped off stuff from many shops gone as the wares stood exposed. As communication networks struggled to get back online in the face of power outage, many areas went without connectivity for the second day running. Sources said it might take a couple of days for power supply to be restored, prolonging the agony for the people of Vizag. TOI