More than 400,000 people in India have been
evacuated as a massive cyclone sweeps through
the Bay of Bengal towards the east coast.
Cyclone Phailin, categorised as "very severe" by
weather forecasters, is expected to hit Orissa and
Andhra Pradesh states on Saturday evening.
The Meteorological Department has predicted the
storm will bring winds up to 220 km/h (136mph).
A deadly super-cyclone in 1999 killed more than
10,000 people in Orissa.
But officials say this time they are better prepared, the
BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi reports.
However, the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center
in Hawaii is forecasting even stronger winds, predicting
sustained speeds of up to 269 km/h (167 mph).
Homes at risk
Officials said Cyclone Phailin is expected to make
landfall close to the city of Gopalpur (Orissa state),
bringing a storm surge of at least 3m (10ft) that was
likely to cause "extensive damage" to mud houses on
the coast.
"No-one will be allowed to stay in mud and thatched
houses in the coastal areas,'' said Orissa's Disaster
Management Minister Surya Narayan Patra.
The army is on standby in the two states for
emergency and relief operations. Officials said
helicopters and food packages were ready to be
dropped in the storm-affected areas.
Meanwhile, the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning
Centre predicted that Phailin could produce gusts of up
to 315 km/h, while the London-based Tropical Storm
Risk classified Phailin as a Category Five storm - the
most powerful.
Cyclone Phailin is expected to be the biggest storm in
the region for 14 years
Relief operations are underway in Orissa to provide
food and shelter for evacuees
At least 400,000 people have left their homes, many
for storm shelters
Parts of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states have suffered
heavy flooding in recent days
Fishermen have been asked not to venture out to sea.
Heavy rain and winds have already struck Orissa, where
authorities have set up storm shelters for evacuees.
Janmejay Mohapatra, a resident of Orissa state capital
Bhubaneswar, said it was too dangerous to go out now,
as trees were down and debris was flying everywhere.
"Already the rain is very heavy and the wind is gusting
at 100-120km an hour," he told the BBC. "The phone
lines are down where I am and we have no electricity."
Minister Surya Narayan Patra said:"We are fighting
against nature. We are better prepared this time, we
learnt a lot from 1999."
India's eastern coast and Bangladesh are routinely hit
by cyclonic storms between April and November which
cause deaths and widespread damage to property.
In December 2011, Cyclone Thane hit the southern
state of Tamil Nadu, killing dozens of people.
Comments
Post a Comment