To escape the wrath of Cyclone Phailin, over 5 lakh people have been evacuated from coastal areas in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
Severe cyclonic storm Phailin, which forced the evacuation of over 8 lakh people, left a trail of destruction in coastal areas of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and disrupted communication lines before weakening considerably on Sunday.
Massive preparedness, speedy evacuation plans and almost accurate prediction of cyclone time and path have saved the country from a natural disaster which could have taken thousands of live.
Andhra Pradesh seems to have largely escaped the fury of Cyclone Phailin, which crossed the coast near Gopalpur in Odisha at around 8.25 pm.
Bihar government has sounded alert in 28 flood-prone districts following a warning issued by Indian Meteorological Department in the wake of Cyclone Phailin that pounded Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday announced an interim assistance of Rs 1,000 crore each for Andhra Pradesh and Odisha for relief and rehabilitation in the wake of destruction caused by cyclone Phailin.
The high-velocity cyclone Phailin that hit Odisha about a week ago is estimated to have destroyed around 26 lakh trees in the state.
Companies are reaching out to travellers who'd booked packages for Gopalpur and Puri for a stay later this month and November, to update them on the situation.
The NDRF chief said initial reports suggested that due to the impact of the cyclone, buildings and some communication towers were destroyed.
With cyclone Phailin expected to make landfall in Odisha on Saturday, the state government mounted a massive operation to evacuate two lakh people from six coastal districts on Friday night
The metrological department on Saturday said that Phailin is a very severe 'super cyclone' and its wind speed may go up to 200 and 240 km per hour by noon itself.
State Revenue and Disaster Minister S N Patro said the men jumped from the trawlers and swam to safety at Ersama in Jagatsinghpur district.
The Centre has assured all help to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh where a "very severe" cyclone is expected to hit on Saturday and sent nearly 500 personnel of National Disaster Response Force for relief and rescue operations.
With Cyclone Phailin set to hit Odisha and Andhra Pradesh coasts on Saturday evening, rail, road and air traffic has been badly disrupted in the states.
The Odisha government is preparing for Cyclone Phailin -- which is expected to hit the east coast on Saturday evening -- on a war footing.
At least three persons died on Saturday after uprooted trees fells on them in Odisha ahead of Cyclone Phailin's landfall at Gopalpur.
As Odisha and Andhra Pradesh gear up for the arrival of Cyclone Phailin, here's a brief summary of what you should and should not do during a cyclone.
Phailin, a very severe cyclonic storm, on Saturday struck the Odisha coast, bringing in its wake torrential rains and wind speeds of over 200 kmph in the state and in neighbouring north coastal Andhra Pradesh.
After remaining stationary for several hours over the sea, the cyclonic storm 'Phailin' on Thursday intensified, moving slightly northwest and lay centered at about 850 km southeast of Paradip.
Villagers on Monday blocked the official convoy of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who was on a visit to coastal areas of cyclone-hit Odisha to oversee relief work.
The 'eye' or centre of the cyclone is estimated to be 15 km in spread so it will take nearly an hour to cross the coast completely, officials said adding that the impact of the storm will be maximum for the next six hours
The intensity of Cyclone Phailin on Sunday reduced significantly to 90-100 kilometres per hour at Odisha's Gopalpur where the cyclone hit at a speed of over 200 kmph on Saturday night.
Several major cyclones have hit various parts of India over the last 10 years. Here is a look at the notable among them.
Losses to be well below Rs 100 crore, say insurers.
The threat of epidemic is looming large in worst-hit Ganjam district as the debris is yet to be cleared even six days after Cyclone Phailin left behind its trail of destruction.
Four persons have died in Bihar since Monday in rain-related incidents due to the 'peripheral effect' of Cyclone Phailin, taking the death toll in the state to 14.
Loss of Odisha Sands Complex is estimated at about Rs 100-crore.
Hit hardest by Cyclone Phailin, the coastal district of Ganjam is estimated to have suffered a loss of at least Rs 3,000 crore in the nature's fury which has deprived lakhs of people of their livelihood and damaged 2.4 lakh houses.
After anticipating a ferocious storm and torrential rains, locals were on Sunday relieved that cyclone Phailin' had not caused the kind of damage to life and property which they feared.
Cyclone Phailin, which made a landfall on the southern coast of Odisha at around 8:30 pm on Saturday at a windspeed of 200 km an hour, affected a cultivable area of 0.5 million hectares and damaged 80 per cent of the power transmission infrastructure in the coastal areas.
Congress on Monday appeared to claim credit for effective handling of cyclone 'Phailin', saying all steps are being taken under its rule to make the country "disaster-resilient" which was evident from the Indian Meteorological Department's accurate prediction and "record" evacuation of over one million people in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
People of Berhampur in south Odisha are crossing over to Andhra Pradesh in search of ATMs to withdraw money as almost all such facilities in this silk city are lying defunct since Cyclone Phailin hit the state.
So how are tropical cyclones formed? How destructive can they be? How are their names chosen? Find out the answers to these and other questions in our cyclone FAQ.
Heavy rains in the aftermath of Cyclone Phailin triggered floods in Odisha on Monday with over 2.5 lakh people being marooned in Balasore -- one of the two worst-hit districts along with Mayurbanj -- and several rivers were in spate.
Accepting Odisha's proposal of constructing an additional 162 cyclone shelter houses as they helped in providing safe stay for people after evacuation from the coast, WB team agreed to provide assistance of $55 million for the purpose, the sources said.
With better preparedness and efficient planning and execution, toll restricted to a low level. Lesson from 1999 cyclone helped.
The deep depression in North Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood intensified into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday and is likely to cross Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast on October 12.
Relief and restoration work was stepped up on Tuesday in areas ravaged by twin calamity of Cyclone Phailin and resultant floods in Odisha, which affected over 1.2 crore people in more than 16,000 villages and claimed 26 lives. Of the 26, five people died in floods.
Cyclone 'Phailin', which was to make landfall two days from now, possibly near Gopalpur in Odisha and in north Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday intensified into a severe cyclonic storm travelling slightly northwest and lying about 800 km from Paradip in Odisha.
United States experts have described Phailin as the strongest tropical cyclone to hit India in 14 years.
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