NEW DELHI, October 12 -- At least five people were killed as Cyclone Hudhud made a landfall on India's easten shores, evacuated by hundreds of thousands of people who escaped gusts of up to 195 km per hour, which uprooted trees and destroyed buildings. Visakhapatnam, known to locals as Vizag., was the worst hit with extensive wreckage strewn across the the port city, home to two million people and a major naval base. Most people heeded warnings to take refuge in Vizag, but five were killed by falling trees and masonry, and thousands of homes were damaged, emergency officials said, according to Reuters news agency. The country’s meteorological department said the cyclone will maintain its intensity before weakening into a deep depression after about six hours of its landfall. The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, the state that bore the brunt of Hudhud's onslaught, said the extent of damage could only be assessed after the storm subsides, possibly by Monday. "We are unable to ascertain the situation. Seventy percent of communication has totally collapsed ... this is the biggest calamity," N. Chandrababa Naidu told Headlines Today television. "We are asking people not to come out of their houses," Naidu said. Disaster relief agencies had evacuated more than 150,000 people on Saturday. India's meteorological department predicted more damage in the coastal states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha with the storm expected to lash the coastline for the next few hours. A storm surge of 1-2 meters above high tide is also forecast, which could result in flooding in some areas. Military on standby Officials stockpiled emergency supplies and rescue workers were on standby along the coastlines of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha states on Saturday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a high-level emergency meeting to review the arrangements made in preparation of the storm. Officials said four naval ships and nine air force helicopters were on standby for relief and rescue operations, while army soldiers and federal rescue workers were also on hand. The Indian Ocean is a cyclone hot spot. Of the 35 deadliest storms in recorded history, 27 have come through the Bay of Bengal - and have landed in either India or Bangladesh. In 1999, a cyclone devastated Odisha's coastline and killed at least 10,000 people. Source: Agencies
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Thank you for choosing to make a difference through your donation. We appreciate your support.
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of CookiesCategories
All
Archives
April 2024
|