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Cyclone Hudhud: hundreds of thousands evacuated in India Cyclone sparks evacuations in India while Japan braces for typhoon
(about 17 hours later)
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from India’s east coast as a powerful storm swept across the Bay of Bengal. Heavy rains and gusts have 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, one of two storms pounding Asia on Sunday.
Rescue workers were on standby ahead of cyclone Hudhud’s expected landfall near Visakhapatnam, the largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, at about midday on Sunday local time. In Japan at least 35 people were reported injured as typhoon Vongfong, with winds of up to 110 miles per hour (180km/h), unleashed rains and gusts on Okinawa and headed for the next island of Kyushu, where authorities told 150,000 people to evacuate.
About 150,000 people have been evacuated in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, with another 400,000 expected to be relocated by the end of the day. Cyclone Hudhud – described as “very severe” by India’s meteorological department, with winds reacing 120 miles per hour – was predicted to make landfall around noon on Sunday near near the city of Visakhapatnam, one of the largest in southern India and a major naval base.
The Indian meteorological department described Hudhud as a very severe storm with winds of up to 120mph (195kmh). It is expected to cause torrential rains when it makes landfall. At least 400,000 people were evacuated from the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa states as authorities aimed for zero casualties. Hundreds of shelters have been set up to house the evacuees.
Four districts in Andhra Pradesh that are home to more than 14 million people are likely to be worst-hit by the storm and 370 relief camps have been set up to house evacuees. As the storm approached the coast on Sunday it picked up speed and strength. Hundreds of trees had been uprooted, said SK Grewal, chief staff officer of India’s eastern naval command. Thirty diving crews and 20 rescue teams were on standby.
Meanwhile, 20 people were injured in Japan’s southern most islands as typhoon Vongfong continued towards the mainland on Saturday with ferocious winds of up to 145mph (234kmh) and driving rain. Hundreds of rescuers of India’s National Disaster Response Force were also spread out across the two states expected to take the brunt of the cyclone. Electricity lines were disconnected in separate parts of Andhra Pradesh to avoid electrocutions, said Arvind Kumar, a relief and rescue official.
The storm has been downgraded from a super-typhoon but officials said it remained “large and very strong” and warned of high waves, torrential rain and landslides. 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.
Vongfong is expected to approach Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu by early Monday after brushing off Okinawa, and could make landfall, the meteorological agency said. The US military on Okinawa, where last week’s typhoon killed three US airmen who were washed out to sea, instructed personnel and their families to remain indoors on Sunday until strong winds and rain subsided.
Okinawa has already experienced gusts and heavy rain, which has blacked out 33,000 households.
More than 10,000 residents, mostly in coastal areas, were advised to evacuate, with the weather agency warning the prefecture could be hit by hourly rainfall of up to 80mm by early Monday.