5 killed As Severe Cyclone ‘Phailin’ Slams India’s Odisha, North AP Coast

New Delhi, Oct 13, IRNA – Powerful cyclone Phailin, the worst since the disastrous super-cyclone of 1999, pounded the Odisha coast on Saturday, bringing in its wake torrential rains and wind speeds of over 200 kmph in the state and in neighbouring north coastal Andhra Pradesh (AP). Vast swathes of coastal districts of Odisha, especially Ganjam, whose Gopalpur-on-sea was the entry point for the storm, were engulfed in darkness as trees and electric poles were felled by the cyclone. Terrified people were forced to remain indoors by heavy rains and vehicular traffic came to a grinding halt. Bracing for the cyclonic storm, more than half a million people were evacuated by authorities from vulnerable areas in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in one of the biggest such exercises. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said 4.5 lakh people were moved to safer places in Odisha and another lakh were taken to safety in Andhra Pradesh in order to avoid a repeat of the super cyclone that left close to 10,000 people dead 14 years ago. The evacuated people were crammed into cyclone shelters, schools and public buildings. Heavy to very heavy rainfall were also widespread in the districts of Gajapati, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Kendrapara in coastal region of Odisha besides state capital Bhubaneshwar. However, the extent of casualties, if any, and damage wreaked by the cyclone after the land fall were not immediately available. The eye or centre of the cyclone is estimated to be 15 kilometers in spread and its intensity will continue till Sunday morning, local officials said. Flights and trains from Odisha capital Bhubaneshwar have also been suspended. This is the strongest since the one in 1999 that wreaked havoc in Odisha, leaving at least 9,000 people dead./end