150,000 evacuated as India braces for cyclone Hudhud

PanARMENIAN.Net - About 150,000 people were evacuated on India's eastern seaboard on Saturday, Oct 11, as cyclone Hudhud bore down and grew in sheer force, threatening to devastate farmland and fishing villages when it hits the coast on Sunday morning, Reuters reported.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) rated Hudhud as a very severe cyclonic storm that could pack gusts of 195 km/h (over 120 mph) and dump more than 24.5 cm (10 inches) of rain when it makes landfall.

The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS), run by the United Nations and the European Commission, forecast even higher peak wind speeds of 212 km/h. That would make Hudhud a Category 4 storm capable of inflicting "catastrophic" damage.

Authorities further north in Odisha state said they were monitoring the situation and would, if necessary, move 300,000 people most at risk to nearby shelters.

In New Delhi, India's Crisis Management Committee met to review readiness for the onslaught from Hudhud.

"All the central agencies are fully geared up to provide necessary assistance," the government said in a statement, adding that 39 National Disaster Response Force teams had been deployed to the two states.

Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are common at this time of year. These often cause deaths, mass evacuations of coastal villages, disruption of power and phone services as well as damage to crops and property in eastern India and Bangladesh.