Lehar cyclone threat: Centre despatch 35 NDRF teams to AP

New Delhi:  With the 'Lehar' cyclone, which is threatened to cause more damage than the earlier two cyclones in the last fortnight, menacing moving towards Andhra coast and likely to hit on November 28, the Centre has despatched 35 teams of National Defence Response Force (NDRF) teams to take positions.

"Of the total teams, four are being kept as reserve at our base in Mundali and five others as standby at Guntur base to meet additional challenges," said an NDRF statement.

"The teams have been equipped with communication equipment to maintain smooth and coordinated operations even if normal communication lines get disrupted due to cyclone," it added.

"NDRF control room in Delhi is closely monitoring the situation round-the-clock and keeping close coordination with all related agencies."

Andhra Pradesh coast is on alert with the Met office warning that a storm surge of two to three metres would inundate low-lying areas of West and East Godavari, Vishakhapatnam and Krishna districts at the time of the cyclone's landfall.