Thousands of people are fleeing their homes in search of higher ground
as India braces for a massive cyclone along its eastern seaboard.
The Indian government says it plans to evacuate 100,000 people to safer areas before Cyclone Phailin, currently spinning in the Bay of Bengal, hits the region Saturday.
Officials in the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh say Phailin is expected to make landfall in the area with winds up to 220 kilometers per hour and a coastal storm surge of two meters. Weather forecasters have warned those numbers could increase as the "very severe" cyclone strengthens.
Indian authorities have warned of extensive damage to crops, village dwellings and old buildings, as well as a disruption of power, water and rail services.
The Indian Meteorological Department also called on tens of thousands of farmers in the rice and cotton-growing states to save their crops.
“Farmers have 48 hours to prepare,” said director general L. S. Rathore. “We have asked them to harvest if their crops are ready, to bundle the crops together to minimize the damage or to drain out any water stagnating in their fields.”
Authorities in the affected states began stocking shelters with rations, put disaster response teams on standby, and canceled government employees' holidays as Phailin - some 800 km (500 miles) from the Indian coastline - moved closer.
Cyclone season
The country's cyclone season runs from April to December, with severe storms often causing dozens of deaths, evacuations of tens of thousands of people from low-lying villages and wide damage to crops and property.
In 1999, a super cyclone battered the coast of Odisha for 30 hours with wind speeds reaching 300 kph. It killed 10,000 people.
The Odisha government canceled holidays for civil servants in vulnerable areas during the Hindu festival of Dussehra and ordered relief and rescue officials to spread out.
“We will start evacuation of people from low-lying areas from the morning of Friday,” said Odisha's Revenue and Disaster Management Department Minister Surya Narayan Patro.
He said food rations were sent to cyclone centers, schools and other buildings on elevated areas where people can shelter.
Disaster response units and fire personnel are on standby, control rooms are being set up and satellite phones have been sent to district heads, to ensure communications despite possible disruptions, he added.
In neighboring Andhra Pradesh, government workers, who have been on a strike for almost a week over a political decision to divide the state, came back to work in case of an emergency.
Helicopters and boats are being positioned in strategic spots and mobile service providers have been asked to make sure damage to communications towers is repaired immediately.
The Indian government says it plans to evacuate 100,000 people to safer areas before Cyclone Phailin, currently spinning in the Bay of Bengal, hits the region Saturday.
Officials in the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh say Phailin is expected to make landfall in the area with winds up to 220 kilometers per hour and a coastal storm surge of two meters. Weather forecasters have warned those numbers could increase as the "very severe" cyclone strengthens.
Indian authorities have warned of extensive damage to crops, village dwellings and old buildings, as well as a disruption of power, water and rail services.
The Indian Meteorological Department also called on tens of thousands of farmers in the rice and cotton-growing states to save their crops.
“Farmers have 48 hours to prepare,” said director general L. S. Rathore. “We have asked them to harvest if their crops are ready, to bundle the crops together to minimize the damage or to drain out any water stagnating in their fields.”
Authorities in the affected states began stocking shelters with rations, put disaster response teams on standby, and canceled government employees' holidays as Phailin - some 800 km (500 miles) from the Indian coastline - moved closer.
Cyclone season
The country's cyclone season runs from April to December, with severe storms often causing dozens of deaths, evacuations of tens of thousands of people from low-lying villages and wide damage to crops and property.
In 1999, a super cyclone battered the coast of Odisha for 30 hours with wind speeds reaching 300 kph. It killed 10,000 people.
The Odisha government canceled holidays for civil servants in vulnerable areas during the Hindu festival of Dussehra and ordered relief and rescue officials to spread out.
“We will start evacuation of people from low-lying areas from the morning of Friday,” said Odisha's Revenue and Disaster Management Department Minister Surya Narayan Patro.
He said food rations were sent to cyclone centers, schools and other buildings on elevated areas where people can shelter.
Disaster response units and fire personnel are on standby, control rooms are being set up and satellite phones have been sent to district heads, to ensure communications despite possible disruptions, he added.
In neighboring Andhra Pradesh, government workers, who have been on a strike for almost a week over a political decision to divide the state, came back to work in case of an emergency.
Helicopters and boats are being positioned in strategic spots and mobile service providers have been asked to make sure damage to communications towers is repaired immediately.
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