First person: ‘Yes, I survived cyclone Hudhud’

Damages aftermath of the Hudhud Cyclone in Visakhapatnam. (Source: PTI Photo)

A student of NID also happened to stop there telling the constable that he needed to go back to his hostel. I immediately showed my Press card to the constable and the student and requested him to drop me anywhere he liked. It worked, but it took us over two-and-half hours to dodge fallen trees and poles, going through lanes and by lanes. On the flyover, Kiran with who I was pillion riding, was shaken as a billboard broke away from a bus shelter and fibre plastic sheets flew past a few feet away, missing us and many others on the road. My spectacles flew away as I tried to shield my face from the strong gusts. Uprooted trees and power and telecom poles left just enough space for a two-wheeler or an auto to go through. Instead of dropping me at NID, Kiran decided to go till the bus station. The wind slowed down our motorcycle, almost to a halt at times. It was the same with passing autorickshaws which faced the greater danger of being toppled or blown away because of their shape. “Sorry anna I won’t risk going any further. Go into the RTC complex and take shelter. Go to your hotel tomorrow,’’Kiran told me and left.

A bus shed damaged after hit by Hudhud Cyclone in Vishakapatnam. (Source: PTI Photo)

I walked to a fuel outlet nearby where a man was bargaining with an auto driver to go till Maddilapalem, not very far from the hotel where I intended to check in. It took us several detours to get to a place that was just half a km away from my hotel-the Waltair Club. I could feel the autorickshaw shaking and rocking in the wind. I got down just a few feet away from Tycoon Restaurant at 1 pm just as the cyclone winds peaked. Walking up the road towards the Tycoon Restaurant was a bit easy compared to what I experienced on the highway but as soon as I neared the level near it, the wind almost blew me away. I went on one knee and held on to a concrete traffic block. Two youth came out of the basement of a nearby apartment, opposite the HSBC Global Delivery Service, and dragged me into the shelter of the basement.

An aerial view of the Cyclone Hudhud hit areas in Vizag district. (Source: PTI Photo)

The Waltair Club was just 500 yards away but with airborne pieces of metal sheets, glass, billboards, wires, cables, plastic doors it was scary to venture out. After about one hour, a group of municipal workers braving the winds were on the road to clear storm water drain inlets and I walked with them till the hotel – chilled and soaked to the bone. I was in a shock but the bigger shock came the next day when I went around the city. I was born in Vizag, grew up flying kites and picking wild berries near the hill that is now known as VUDA Kailashgiri, and played cricket on the beach. The usually lush green hillsides were stripped of all the trees. The picturesque Rushikonda hills wore a maimed and mutilated look. Andhra University campus, the greenest space in the city, was a mangled mess of some 5000 fallen trees.