India lashed by big cyclone as typhoon hits Japan

HYDERABAD (India) — Powerful Cyclone Hudhud lashed a large swathe of India’s eastern seaboard with heavy rain and strong winds, uprooting trees, snapping power cables and killing at least two people yesterday — one of the two storms which pounded Asia.

In Japan, at least 31 people were reported injured as Typhoon Vongfong battered the southern island of Okinawa yesterday, knocking out power before losing intensity and getting downgraded to a tropical storm. Most of the injuries were caused by strong winds.

Cyclone Hudhud had winds of 195 kmh when the edge of the storm hit land after sweeping through the Bay of Bengal, Chief Staff Officer of India’s Eastern Naval Command Rear Admiral SK Grewal said. The cyclone’s wind speed dipped to about 160 kmh, but was expected to pick up again later yesterday, he said.

At least two people were reported dead, one from a wall collapse and the other when a tree toppled over.

Visakhapatnam, one of the largest cities in southern India and a major naval base, was bearing the brunt of the cyclone’s fury. 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 km of India’s coast. Television footage from Visakhapatnam showed downed electrical poles, uprooted trees and massive debris.

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.

Mr 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. Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister said while the early evacuations had saved lives, the cyclone caused huge damage to buildings and crops in the coastal districts.

India’s meteorological department said yesterday afternoon that the cyclone would weaken by today, 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 north-eastern India were also expected to see heavy rain.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said Vongfong — Japan’s strongest storm this year — was expected to cut across the biggest of Japan’s islands, Honshu, causing heavy rain in Tokyo, before exiting from the north coast. Yesterday, around 210,000 people from 90,000 homes were ordered to evacuate in Okinawa, 1,600km south of Tokyo.

Wind speeds weakened significantly yesterday from Saturday’s peak of 234 kmh, which had made Vongfong a “super typhoon”. Agencies