The Doppler radar had to be shut down two hours before landfall
Wind blowing at a speed of 100 km per hour at Gopalpur as Cyclone Hudhud hits Ganjam District on Sunday. (Photo: PTI)
Hyderabad: The Doppler radar at the Cyclone Warning Centre at Visakhapatnam was shut down prior to the landfall of Hudhud on Sunday to avoid damage to equipment. IMD officials said they monitored the cyclone using the Cyclone Detection Radar Centre at Machilipatnam, satellites and ground observation.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the shutdown also temporarily put the administration in the dark about the location of the eye of the cyclone, which crossed directly over Vizag.
Communication infrastructure belonging to the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam also temporarily failed due to the cyclone.
The Doppler radar of the Cyclone Warning Centre (CWC) at Visakhapatnam is located atop the Kailasagiri hill in Visakhapatnam.
Dr Y.K. Reddy, director, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), said, “The Doppler radar had to be shut down two hours before landfall to avoid any damage to the instruments. But there was no problem as we used secondary sources like the Doppler radar at Machilipatnam, satellite data and ground observation to estimate the location and progress of Cyclone Hudhud.”
The CWC campus in the city meanwhile was completely inundated. Cyclone Hudhud made landfall with its eye, with a diameter of about 40 to 60 kilometres, moving through the city.
The government was also temporarily left confused due to the shutdown. Mr Naidu had said in the morning that the administration didn’t have complete ground information. “We don’t even know if the eye has passed completely because the communication link with the radar is lost. There is confusion if the eye has completely crossed,” he said.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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