Cyclone Hudhud is striking the eastern Indian coast, causing serious damage and moving some 350,000 people to safer places. At least three people have been killed in Andhra Pradesh and three in Orissa.
The cyclone（旋风，气旋）, classed “very severe”, brought winds of 205km/h (127mph), as it passed over the coast near the city of Visakhapatnam. The winds and heavy rains have brought down trees and power lines, and damaged crops in both states. It is feared a storm surge of up to two meters could flood low-lying areas and hundreds of relief centers have been opened in the two states. Disaster relief teams have also been sent. The authorities say the next few hours will be extremely important.
The strength of the cyclone has been revised upwards since Friday, and the Indian Navy is on standby to assist. “Hundreds of trees have been uprooted and power lines knocked down. The national highway in the region has been shut.” Local journalist Hridayesh Joshi told the BBC from Visakhapatnam, “The situation is becoming increasingly bad. There is very strong wind and rain right now - objects are flying and smashing things. We are relatively safe in the centre of town, but the danger is for those in open areas. We are hoping it won’t get much worse.”
In its latest report, the India Meteorological（气象学的）Department said sea conditions would become “phenomenal” off the north Andhra Pradesh and south Orissa coasts.
Pradeep Kumar Mohapatra, a special relief commissioner, said that authorities were ready. “The administration is fully prepared,” he said. “The collectors (senior government officials) have been given permission to take up any evacuation wherever necessary for areas which are likely to be hit and flooded.”
A super-cyclone in 1999 killed more than 10,000 people in Orissa. Last October as many as 500,000 people in India were evacuated（疏散）when a severe cyclone called Phailin swept through Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states. India’s eastern coast and Bangladesh are routinely hit by cyclonic storms between April and November which cause deaths and widespread damage to property.
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