Visakhapatnam: Vizagites woke up to with a sense of relief on Thursday after learning that Cyclone Titli had hit about 200 km away in Srikakulam district and the city had escaped damage.
Almost to the day four years ago — October 12, 2014 — super cyclone Hudhud devastated Vizag, the people feared that Titli could cause some damage to the port city.
The IMD and the government reiterated that Cyclone Titli would not hit Vizag but the people, wiser by experience and fearing last-minute turns in the cyclone’s path, cancelled non-essential trips, stored water and groceries and stayed home. Fishermen followed instructions to not venture out into the sea. Beach Road was completely deserted. During the Dasara vacations normally, the beach is swarming with people but it was different this year due to the cyclone, said an official from the Tourism Department.
In the event, the day passed off without event. The mercury dipped by 5ºC and pleasant weather prevailed all over the district.
District collector Praveen Kumar on Wednesday announced that Cyclone Titli would have little impact but ordered NDRF teams to be ready in the city and put revenue officials on their toes for any eventuality.
IndiGo cancelled three flights to Bengaluru and Hyderabad as a precautionary measure. Airport officials said no other airline cancelled flights, a couple of flights were delayed due to bad weather.
