A couple watches huge wave at a cape in Yomitan Village, on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa
Heavy rain and wind gusts ripped through a large swath of India’s eastern seaboard, uprooting trees and snapping power cables as a powerful cyclone swept through the Bay of Bengal and slammed into the southern city of Visakhapatnam, one of two storms pounding Asia yesterday.
In Japan, at least 35 people were reported injured as Typhoon Vongfong, packing winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour and heavy rain, hit the southern island of Okinawa and was aiming at the next island of Kyushu, where authorities told 150,000 people to evacuate.
Cyclone Hudhud, described as “very severe” by India’s meteorological department, had winds of 195 kilometers per hour when the edge of the storm hit land, Chief Staff Officer of India’s Eastern Naval Command Rear Admiral S.K. Grewal told reporters. The cyclone’s wind speed dipped to about 160 kph, but was expected to pick up again later yesterday, he said.
At least two people were reported dead in the cyclone — one from a wall collapse and the other when a tree toppled over.
Visakhapatnam, which was bearing the brunt of the cyclone’s fury, is one of the largest cities in southern India and a major naval base.
At least 400,000 people were evacuated from the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa states, and hundreds of shelters were set up to house them.
Experts said the storm was likely to cause widespread devastation along nearly 300 kilometers of India’s coast. Television footage from Visakhapatnam showed downed electrical poles, uprooted trees and massive debris strewn in the streets.
Four districts in Andhra Pradesh state that are home to more than 14 million people — Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari — were likely to be worst hit, including about 350 coastal villages.
Grewal said 30 diving and 20 rescue teams were on standby. Hundreds of rescuers from India’s National Disaster Response Force were also spread out across Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.
Electricity lines were disconnected in parts of Andhra Pradesh to avoid electrocutions, said Arvind Kumar, a relief and rescue official.
The meteorological department said yesterday afternoon that the cyclone would weaken over the next 12 hours, with wind speeds gradually decreasing. But heavy rain was expected to lash Andhra Pradesh and Orissa for another three days. Other parts of central and northeastern India were also expected to see heavy rain.
The Indian Ocean is a cyclone hot spot. Of the 35 deadliest storms in recorded history, 27 have come through the Bay of Bengal — and have landed in either India or Bangladesh. In 1999, a cyclone devastated Orissa’s coastline and killed at least 10,000 people.
While India has a disastrous record of response to natural calamities, it managed last October to safely evacuate nearly a million people out of the path of Cyclone Phailin, the strongest tropical storm to hit India in more than a decade. Phailin destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of crops after it made landfall in Orissa, but claimed only about 25 lives.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency said Typhoon Vongfong could reach the Tokyo area by Tuesday, gradually losing strength as it moves up the archipelago. Authorities issued landslide warnings and strong winds knocked out power lines, temporarily halting bullet train service for several hours on Kyushu. Mohammed Shafeeq, Hyderabad AP
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