New Delhi, Oct 29, (dpa/GNA) – Tens of thousands of people were evacuated to temporary shelters, as a severe cyclonic storm made a landfall on India’s south-eastern coast Tuesday.
Torrential rains triggered flooding, house collapses and landslides, while winds exceeding 100 kilometres per hour uprooted trees, downed power lines and damaged croplands, according to officials and media reports.
More than 100,000 people living along the coastline have been evacuated to temporary shelters. The authorities have advised fishermen not to venture into the sea and cordoned off beaches for visitors.
Standing crops covering 38,000 hectares have been destroyed in the state of Andhra Pradesh, according to a government statement.
Vehicle movement in the affected areas has been suspended until daylight on Wednesday. Power lines were severed in coastal towns near the landfall site, plunging them in darkness, the Hindustan Times reported.
Disaster response teams and fire services have been deployed to the affected areas. Officials said the full extent of the damage will become clear only on Wednesday, once the storm has passed.
More than 100 trains and 35 flights were cancelled Tuesday.
Cyclones often form over the Bay of Bengal between April and November, bringing widespread destruction and flooding to India’s coastal regions.
These powerful rotating storms that begin over tropical oceans, are characterized by strong winds, torrential rains and storm waves.
At least 128 people were killed in a cyclone that hit the eastern coast in 2020, while another claimed 150 lives along the western coast in 2021.
Climate scientists say that rising ocean temperatures driven by global warming may be contributing to the increasing intensity and destructiveness of such cyclones.
GNA