'Super cyclone' moving at 125mph hits the east coast of India: More than 600,000 people evacuated

 

• 125mph winds have hit east coast states Orissa and Andhra Pradesh
• Around 600,000 have been evacuated from the area, state officials say
• Satellite images from this morning show cyclone filling almost the entire Bay of Bengal area - an area the size of France
• Winds of up to 136mph predicted by Meteorologial Department
• A deadly super-cyclone in 1999 killed more than 10,000 people in the area

By Lizzie Edmonds
Strong winds and heavy rains pounded India's eastern coastline today, as hundreds of thousands of people took shelter from a powerful cyclone that has now hit land.
Categorised as 'very severe' by weather forecasters, Cyclone Phailin is expected to hit Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states the hardest.
The Meteorological Department predicted winds up to 136mph, with initial reports suggesting 125mph have already hit the coast.
Aid agencies are gearing up to help the people in coastal town as the country braces itself for the biggest cyclone in 14 years.

Escape: Scores of evacuated villagers aboard a truck at a relief camp near Berhampur, India

Downpour: Villagers transported on a pick up truck cover themselves from heavy rainfall 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 a shelter in Podampeta, Ganjam district

Route: The cyclone has made its way from the sea and will continue well into the mainland, pictured

 

More than 400,000 evacuated as 'super cyclone' heads for India

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.

Crash: Onlookers watch high waves crashing on the beach of the Bay of Bengal in Vishakhapatnam

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

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. 

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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.

Crash: A wave hits the coast of Andhra Pradesh state, while groups of villagers hurry to evacuate a shipyard

Drenched: Villagers hold umbrellas as they walk towards the safety of a cyclone shelter in Chatrapur

Abandoned: The empty coastal village of Donkuru, Srikakulam following evacuation

Chaos: Waves crash onto the shore in Visakhapatnam district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh

Effort: Indian officials from the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services lift a search and rescue boat

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.

Checks: Rescuers check equipment before heading to help those affected

Assistance: Indian government officials stand near a stack of relief goods ready to be distributed

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

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.

Prepared: Villagers walk cattle through the streets during a heavy cyclonic wind in Ganja village, Gopalpur

Approaching: Indian youth stand on the shore as high tidal waves hit the coastline today

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.

Together: People take shelter at a wedding hall after leaving their houses in the eastern Indian state of Odisha

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. 

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.

Aid: Scores of shelters providing food and accommodation, such as this on in Ganjam district, have been set up for those evacuated

Temporary: Evacuated Indian villagers eat food in a cyclone shelter in Chatrapur, Ganjam district