News
With this, cyclone death toll has reached 35
Author: M Suchitra
Five adivasis have been killed in a landslide in Andhra Pradesh that followed the torrential rains after the landfall of severe cyclone Hudhud. The incident took place in Medarasola village of Madula gram panchayat in Visakhaptanam's Araku tribal block. With this, the Hudhud death toll has touched 35.
Almost 250,000 people affected; more than 144,000 hectares of crop damaged
Author: M Suchitra
The death toll in Hudhud-related incidents in the three northern Andhra districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam rose to 35 on Wednesday, four days after the cyclone made landfall. In a status report on relief, rehabilitation and damage, commissioner for disaster management A R Sukumar has said that nine cases are yet to be confirmed. While 25 deaths were reported from Visakhapatnam district, eight deaths were reported from Vizianagaram and two from Srikakulam districts.
State assesses initial damage assessed at over Rs 43,000 crore, excluding crop damage
Author: M Suchitra
Prime minister Narendra Modi has announced an interim relief package of Rs 1,000 crore for the cyclone-affected areas in Andhra Pradesh. Modi, who arrived at Visakhapatnam airport at 1.45 pm Tuesday afternoon, made his announcement after an aerial inspection of the areas devastated by severe cyclone Hudhud. Modi also announced aid of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Nearly 21 deaths confirmed, power supply disrupted
Author: M Suchitra
Cyclone Hudhud that made its landfall in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday has wreaked havoc in four districts, namely Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and East Godavari. So far, 21 deaths have officially been confirmed and as many as 6,695 houses and 5,727 electric posts and transformers have been damaged.
Extensive agricultural damage expected
Author: Aparna Pallavi
The southern parts of Chhattisgarh have been experiencing heavy rains following Cyclone Hudhud, causing huge losses to crops. According to predictions by the state's meteorology department, more rainstorms are expected in the districts of Dantewada, Bastar, Narayanpur, Bijapur, Kondegaon and Sukma in the next 36 hours, with wind speeds at 50-70 km/hr. Other parts of the state are also expected to receive moderate to heavy rains.
Close to 20 million people displaced or affected
Author: Vani Manocha and Kiran Pandey
Since October 2013, when Phailin hit Odisha's coast, India has witnessed a series of extreme weather events like cyclonic storms, cloudbursts, floods, droughts and hailstorms. These events not only destroyed lives and livelihood of people, but also caused a huge economic loss to the state and national economies.
Andhra chief minister asks the Centre to declare cyclone 'national calamity'
In his latest tweet on social media website, Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that he will visit the city of Visakhapatnam - which was hit by Cyclone Hudhud a day earlier - on Tuesday. Modi tweeted, "Have been constantly taking updates on Cyclone Hudhud. Spoke to AP CM. Will visit Visakhapatnam tomorrow & take stock of the situation."
Evacuation of people to safer areas helped minimise casualty
Author: M Suchitra
Cyclone Hudhud battered Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts in Andhra Pradesh, leaving three persons dead. The cyclone made landfall at Kailashagiri on the outskirts of the port city of Visakhapatnam.
Seawater breaches embankments, destroys standing crops in Kendrapada district
Author: Ashis Senapati
Strong winds and heavy rains brought on by cyclone Hudhud pounded the coastal districts of Odisha on Sunday as hundreds of people took refuge in cyclone shelters. The affected districts are: Ganjam, Puri, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Gajapati, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur.
People are warned to stay indoors as trees, poles and hoardings risk being uprooted
Author: M Suchitra
Cyclone Hudhud hit the coast of Andhra Pradesh at Kailashagiri, close to Visakhapatnam at 10.40 am today. At the time, the cyclone was raging at a wind speed of 190 km/hr. According to initial reports, two persons in Visakhapatnam and one person in Srikakulam have been killed by falling trees.
Army, navy and air force on stand-by for emergency rescue and relief
Author: M Suchitra
Andhra Pradesh government has made elaborate arrangements to face the very severe cyclonic storm, Hudhud, which is expected to make landfall near Visakhapatnam around noon today. Both Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam are experiencing heavy rains and lashing winds since Saturday afternoon.
Seaside village residents say boat was overloaded
Author: Ashis Senapati
The mass-evacuation of people from coastal areas of Odisha ahead of cyclone Hudhud led to a mishap on Saturday morning. A boat carrying about 35 people, including women and children from the seaside village Satabhaya, capsized in the crocodile-infested Bausagali river within Bhitarkanika National Park of Kendrapada district of Odisha. A girl died in the mishap and a boy is yet to be traced and feared dead; 10 people sustained injuries.
Many tribals, who earlier used to live in settlements amid big forests, have been made more vulnerable after being relocated by government to lower areas in poor quality houses
Author: Ashis Senapati
The cyclonic storm Hudhud, set to make its landfall on Sunday, is likely to severely affect the tribals of Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada and Ganjam. The evacuation and relocation of these tribals, including Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), is a big test for the state government as it will have to deal with people who are reluctant to leave their houses and move to safer places.
Officials try to figure out how to drain water from the dam reservoirs before heavy rains begin Sunday morning
With just hours to go before cyclone Hudhud brings on heavy rains in the tribal undivided district of Koraput, government officials have entered tribal villages in these remote districts to appeal to people for evacuation. According to A P Mohapatra, the special relief commissioner of the state, officials were to start evacuation operations in remote areas from Saturday morning. Rains have already been reported from these areas, signalling the arrival of the cyclonic system.
Officials say people from 500 villages will be moved to safer areas by evening
Author: M Suchitra
Andhra Pradesh government has started evacuating people from the coastal villages in anticipation of severe cyclone Hudhud. The cyclone is on its course to hit the Visakhapatnam coast Sunday forenoon. According to Katta Hymavati, special commissioner, state disaster management, arrangements for evacuation of 456,000 people from 500 villages have been made. The process is expected to be completed by Saturday evening.
A look at the damage and displacement caused by extreme weather events that have hit India at regular intervals since cyclone Phailin in October 2013
Author: Vani Manocha
Since October 2013, when Phailin hit Odisha's coast and left a trail of destruction, India has witnessed a series of extreme weather events like cyclonic storms, cloudburst, floods, droughts and hailstorms. Though cyclone Phailin did not claim many lives, it left behind a trail of destruction that severely crippled people's livelihood.
Many of these villages in Eastern Ghats are neglected by administration and not priority areas when it comes to disaster management
Author: M Suchitra
On the night of August 3 in 2006, there was a severe landslide in Kodipunjulavalasa village in the Araku valley, a tribal area under Paderu Tribal Development Agency in Visakhapatnam district. The disaster claimed 18 lives and injured about 30. More than a dozen houses of adivasis were destroyed.
Bad weather spells in Bay of Bengal between February to October, the busiest period for fishers, have affected their livelihood
Author: Ashis Senapati
The fate of around 300,000 marine fishers in coastal districts of Odisha hangs in balance as bad weather continues to disrupt their means of earning livelihood. Earlier in June this year, the low pressure that was created in the Bay of Bengal had forced many fishers to anchor their boats for more than 40 days during the peak fishing season. Now, with impending cyclonic storm Hudhud, all set to hit Odisha-Andhra coast on Sunday, October 12, they are agin forced to stay on land.
State braces for severe cyclonic storm as Hudhud is expected to hit between Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam
Author: Jemima Rohekar & Aruna P Sharma
Cyclone Hudhud is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm on October 10, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). It will make landfall between Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh's commercial hub, and Srikakulam, one of the poorest districts of the state.
Many people hit by Phailin last year yet to overcome food and water shortages, find source of livelihood
Author: Ashis Senapati
A large number of coastal villages in Odisha that were hit by cyclone Phailin last October are yet to recover from its impact when another cyclone, Hudhud, has come a knocking. The cyclone, which was about 780 km from the coast on Thursday morning, is set to make a landfall on October 12.
Blogs
After battering coastal Andhra Pradesh with high speed rains and winds, Hudhud will move through neighbouring states
Author: Akshay Deoras
On the first anniversary of Cyclone Phailin, Cyclone Hudhud made a landfall on Sunday near Visakhapatnam (Vizag) around 11 am. In an update given by US' Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC), maximum wind speed of Cyclone Hudhud at 11.30 am (during the landfall) was 115 knot (close to 213km/hr) and gusting to 140 knot (around 260km/hr). The official report from India Meteorological Department will be out soon but initial estimates suggest that wind speed recorded in Vizag touched as high as 190km/hr during the landfall period.
Highest winds and rains blow as eyewall of cyclone hits Vizag
Author: Akshay Deoras
Cyclone Hudhud's landfall process is under way now and the eye of the cyclone will be most likely striking north of Visakhapatnam (Vizag) in Andhra Pradesh (just where estimated by this blogger). The Doppler Weather Radar in Visakhapatnam is now providing a better view of the cyclone's position as it approaches the coast of Andhra Pradesh. The centre of the cyclone seems to be around 60 km south-east of Vizag as of 8.30 am.
Severe weather conditions in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha from today evening
Author: Akshay Deoras
The countdown for Cyclone Hudhud's landfall between Visakhapatnam (Vizag) and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh is now in the final phase. With each passing hour, intensity of Hudhud is increasing and with every increase, the threat to Andhra Pradesh coastal areas is also increasing. From the past Category 1 strength, cyclone Hudhud intensified to Category 2 strength by Saturday morning, by afternoon it had intensified into Category 3 cyclone. At 11.30 am today, Hudhud was 260 km south-east of Vizag, according to the update by India Meteorological Department (IMD). The maximum sustained wind speed as per US' Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) latest update is 105 knot (close to 194 km/hr), gusting at 130 knot (close to 240 kmph).
Phailin had intensified rapidly from a category 1 cyclone on this day last year. Will Hudhud follow in its footsteps?
Author: Akshay Deoras
Between Thursday night and early Friday, Tropical Storm Hudhud intensified into a category 1 cyclone, according to the Saffir Simpson Scale for cyclone classification. It was expected to intensify on Thursday itself but Hudhud neither intensified much nor weakened.
Intensification expected to surpass forecasts given by different agencies and weather models
Author: Akshay Deoras
Tropical storm Hudhud is set to intensify further into a category 1 cyclone on Thursday, October 9. According to the (Saffir Simpson Scale ) for hurricane classification, when the maximum sustained surface winds of a system equal or exceed 64 knot or 119 km/hr, it is upgraded from a tropical storm to a category 1 cyclone.
Fresh cyclone warning issued for coastal areas of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh
Author: Akshay Deoras
While the name "Hudhud" comes from a beautiful bird found in Afro-Eurasia, it will definitely not be a good omen for Odisha and Andhra Pradesh this weekend. As explained here, the activity in the second half of the cyclone season has begun with a bang. Tropical storm (TS) Hudhud has started its journey towards the eastern coast of the Indian mainland. On Tuesday night, this system crossed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with anticipated peak winds of about 55 km/hr.
Interview
Mahesh Palawat, chief meteorologist at Skymet, a private weather forecast agency, speaks to Kanika Kumria on how Hudhud developed, its likely progress and impacts
Author: Kanika Kumria
Hudhud may intensify into a severe cyclone. It is currently centred around 13.7°N latitude and 89.2°E longitude, 780 km away from south-southeast of Gopalpur in Odisha and 770 km southeast of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
News
Residents of seaside villages start moving to safer areas; stock up rations
Author: Ashis Senapati
As many as 16 districts in Odisha state have been put on high alert in anticipation of tropical storm Hudhud, which is expected to make a landfall on the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coast in the early hours of October 12. The move follows the deep depression in the Andaman Sea intensifying into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday, said Pravat Ranjan Mohapatra, deputy special relief commissioner, posted in state capital Bhubaneswar. It may be recalled that last year Odisha coast was hit by cyclone Phailin on the same date.
26 of the 35 deadliest tropical cyclones in world history have been Bay of Bengal storms
Author: Soma Basu
A satellite-based measure of Phailin's (pronounced 'pie-reen', not 'pie-leen', the Thai word for sapphire) strength is estimated as the storm's central pressure at 910.7 millibars, with sustained winds of 175 mph (280 kmph). If those numbers were verified by official forecast agencies, they would place Phailin at par with 2005's Hurricane Katrina, and break the record for the most intense cyclone in Indian Ocean's recorded history, says weather historian Christopher Burt.
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