Saturday, October 12, 2013
Monster cyclone nears Indian coast, sends 440,000 fleeing
As one of the largest cyclones in India’s history reaches its eastern coast, prompting a national red alert and sending some 440,000 people scurrying for shelter, the first deaths have been reported.
Three people were killed in Odisha when trees uprooted by wind gusts fell on them, local media cited police officials as saying.
Cyclone Phailin is likely to be the strongest to hit India since 1999, when a deadly Orissa cyclone killed 10,000 people and caused $4.5 billion worth of damage. This cyclone may surpass that one, as it gathers strength over the warm water of the Bay of Bengal on its way toward land.
Heavy rain and strong winds of up to 220 kilometers per hour were already lashing the country’s eastern coast on Saturday morning as the cyclone approached. Television footage showed gusts of wind snapping branches from trees and residents of coastal villages flocking to shelters.
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