Escape: Scores of evacuated villagers aboard a truck at a relief camp near Berhampur, India
Categorised as 'very severe' by weather forecasters, Cyclone Phailin is expected to hit Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states in the next few hours. The Meteorological Department predicted winds up to 136mph.
Aid agencies are gearing up to help the people in coastal town as the country braces itself for the biggest cyclone in 14 years.
Downpour: Villagers try to cover themselves from heavy rainfall as they ride a pickup truck in Srikakulam district
Enormous: A satellite from the US Naval Research Laboratory shows Cyclone Phailin over the Bay of Bengal
Evacuation: Indian villagers in a small lorry attempt to reach cyclone shelter, village Podampeta, Ganjam district
Route: The cyclone has made its way from the sea and will continue well into the mainland, pictured
By Friday evening, some 600,000 people
had been moved to higher ground or shelters in Orissa, said Surya
Narayan Patro - the state's top disaster management official.
About 12 hours before Cyclone Phailin's expected landfall, meteorologists held out hope that it might hit while in a temporary weakened state.
However, recent satellite images showed the cyclone filling nearly the entire Bay of Bengal, an area larger than France.
The Indian Meteorological Department warned that cyclone Phailin was expected to hit with maximum sustained winds of 130 to 135 miles per hour.
However, the U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii forecast maximum sustained winds of 167 mph, with gusts up to 196 mph.
Indian officials also made less dire predictions about the storm surge, saying only that it would be 10 feet high.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue from Weather Bell, a private U.S. weather firm said: 'There's
nothing to stop it at this point. A
storm this large can't peter out that fast.'
Maue said that even in the best-case scenario there would be a storm surge - a giant wall of water that a cyclone blasts ashore - of 20 to 30 feet. A storm surge causes a great deal of devastation in cyclones - usually even more than the strong winds.
The
storm has been powerful for nearly 36 hours and
those winds have built up tremendous amount of surge, Maue said.
Black skies above Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa state - which is expected to bear the brunt of the cyclone - continued 60 miles out to sea this morning.
Roaring winds made palm trees sway wildly, while to the south of the state seawater was already pushing inland.
Officials canceled holy day celebrations and stockpiled emergency supplies in coastal Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states.
Government workers and volunteers were putting together
hundreds of thousands of food packages to be distributed at relief
camps.
The state's top official, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, appealed for people to cooperate with officials as they order people to leave their homes.
'I request everyone to not panic. Please assist the government. Everyone from the village to the state headquarters have been put on alert,' he told reporters.
Children's charity World Vision said its teams on the ground were already seeing signs of the storm.
Dharmendra Naik, manager of its programmes in Jagathsinghpur district, said: 'Our staff along the coast have been seeing rain falling continuously and winds pick up. People have been trying to stock up on essentials and that has caused the price of many items to be driven higher.'
Kunal Shah, the head of the charity's emergency response in India, said: 'In a storm of this magnitude there is the potential for widespread damage to crops and livestock in the low-lying coastal areas and houses completely wiped away. So while we are praying this storm loses intensity, we're also preparing.'
Save the Children said it was on the ground stockpiling emergency supplies including food, health and hygiene kits and tarpaulin sheets.
Plan International is also in contact with partners in India, ready to intervene to help families affected.
In Paradip, the Orissa port city
hammered in a 1999 cyclone, at least seven ships were put to sea to ride
out the storm, with other boats shifted to safer parts of the harbor,
officials said.
U.S. forecasters repeatedly warned that the storm would be immense.
'If it's not a record it's really, really close,' University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy said.
'You really don't get storms stronger than this anywhere in the world ever. This is the top of the barrel'
To
compare it to killer U.S. storms, McNoldy said cyclone Phailin is
nearly the size of Hurricane Katrina, which killed 1,200 people in 2005
and caused devastating flooding in New Orleans.
He said it also has the wind power of 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which packed 165 mph winds at landfall in Miami.
If the storm continues on its current path without weakening, it is expected to cause large-scale power and communications outages and shut down road and rail links, officials said. There would also be extensive damage to crops.
One official said tens of thousands of more people will be moved to safer areas before the cyclone hits. 'No one will be allowed to stay in mud and thatched houses in the coastal areas,' he said.
The
government also began evacuating 64,000 people from the low-lying areas
of three vulnerable districts in neighboring Andhra Pradesh state, said
state Revenue Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy.
The sea had already pushed inland as much as 130 ft in parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Officials have been stockpiling emergency food supplies, and setting up shelters for people expected to flee the heavy winds and rains. The Indian air force said four transport planes and 18 helicopters were being kept ready for relief operations in the region.
The Bay of Bengal has been the scene of some of the deadliest storms in recent history. The 1999 Orissa cyclone, which was similar in strength to Phailin, killed 10,000 people.
Culled from DAILY MAIL
About 12 hours before Cyclone Phailin's expected landfall, meteorologists held out hope that it might hit while in a temporary weakened state.
However, recent satellite images showed the cyclone filling nearly the entire Bay of Bengal, an area larger than France.
The Indian Meteorological Department warned that cyclone Phailin was expected to hit with maximum sustained winds of 130 to 135 miles per hour.
Force: A villager braves strong winds and rain to walk to a shelter on higher ground
Leaving: An Indian couple in Podampeta village drive towards a shelter with their belongings
Refuge: Residents look out from a cyclone shelter surrounded by water in Badabandha village, Gopalpur
Drenched: Villagers hold umbrellas as they walk towards the safety of a cyclone shelter in Chatrapur
Indian officials also made less dire predictions about the storm surge, saying only that it would be 10 feet high.
Maue said that even in the best-case scenario there would be a storm surge - a giant wall of water that a cyclone blasts ashore - of 20 to 30 feet. A storm surge causes a great deal of devastation in cyclones - usually even more than the strong winds.
Abandoned: The coastal village of Donkuru, Srikakulam district that has been evacuated
Chaos: Waves crash onto the shore in Visakhapatnam district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh
Effort: Indian rescue officials from the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services lift a search and rescue boat
Checks: Rescue officials check search and rescue equipment before heading to help those affected
Assistance: Indian government officials stand near a stack of relief goods ready to be distributed
Black skies above Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa state - which is expected to bear the brunt of the cyclone - continued 60 miles out to sea this morning.
Roaring winds made palm trees sway wildly, while to the south of the state seawater was already pushing inland.
Officials canceled holy day celebrations and stockpiled emergency supplies in coastal Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states.
Approaching: Indian youth stand on the shore as high tidal waves hit the coastline today
Heavy rains: An Indian cycle rickshaw driver makes his way through rain in Berhampur city
Course: A Map of India locating the projected path of cyclone Phailin
The state's top official, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, appealed for people to cooperate with officials as they order people to leave their homes.
'I request everyone to not panic. Please assist the government. Everyone from the village to the state headquarters have been put on alert,' he told reporters.
Children's charity World Vision said its teams on the ground were already seeing signs of the storm.
Dharmendra Naik, manager of its programmes in Jagathsinghpur district, said: 'Our staff along the coast have been seeing rain falling continuously and winds pick up. People have been trying to stock up on essentials and that has caused the price of many items to be driven higher.'
Kunal Shah, the head of the charity's emergency response in India, said: 'In a storm of this magnitude there is the potential for widespread damage to crops and livestock in the low-lying coastal areas and houses completely wiped away. So while we are praying this storm loses intensity, we're also preparing.'
Save the Children said it was on the ground stockpiling emergency supplies including food, health and hygiene kits and tarpaulin sheets.
Plan International is also in contact with partners in India, ready to intervene to help families affected.
Prepared: Villagers walk cattle through the streets during a heavy cyclonic wind in Ganja village, Gopalpur
Coastline: A man walks past high waves of the Bay of Bengal at Gopalpur beach in Ganjam district
U.S. forecasters repeatedly warned that the storm would be immense.
'If it's not a record it's really, really close,' University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy said.
'You really don't get storms stronger than this anywhere in the world ever. This is the top of the barrel'
Together: People take shelter at a wedding hall after leaving their houses in the eastern Indian state of Odisha
He said it also has the wind power of 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which packed 165 mph winds at landfall in Miami.
If the storm continues on its current path without weakening, it is expected to cause large-scale power and communications outages and shut down road and rail links, officials said. There would also be extensive damage to crops.
One official said tens of thousands of more people will be moved to safer areas before the cyclone hits. 'No one will be allowed to stay in mud and thatched houses in the coastal areas,' he said.
Refuge: Locals take shelter in a temporary cyclone shelter in Chatrapur, Ganjam district
The sea had already pushed inland as much as 130 ft in parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Officials have been stockpiling emergency food supplies, and setting up shelters for people expected to flee the heavy winds and rains. The Indian air force said four transport planes and 18 helicopters were being kept ready for relief operations in the region.
The Bay of Bengal has been the scene of some of the deadliest storms in recent history. The 1999 Orissa cyclone, which was similar in strength to Phailin, killed 10,000 people.
Culled from DAILY MAIL
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