Death toll hits 23 after cyclone in India
Source: Agencies |
May 22, 2010, Saturday
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THE death toll from a powerful cyclone that slammed into southeastern India, toppling power lines and triggering landslides, has climbed to 23, a top official said yesterday.
The storm plunged a large swath of coastal Andhra Pradesh state into darkness when it hit on Thursday.
It was packing winds of 100 kilometers per hour. The storm made landfall near Bapatla, about 400 kilometers southeast of Hyderabad, and waves as high as 3 meters lashed the coast.
Even before the cyclone hit, some parts of the state had received up to 32 centimeters of rain.
Officials said at least 23 people have died since Wednesday. At least 55 fishermen were reported missing, although authorities had ordered fishing vessels to remain in port.
State welfare agencies evacuated more than 50,000 people from low-lying villages ahead of the storm.
The latest deaths included four people killed in a landslide near the city of Vijaywada late on Thursday night, state revenue minister Dharmana Prasad Rao said.
Another four deaths were reported in nearby Nellore, Guntur, and Prakasham districts.
Strong winds uprooted trees, power lines and billboards, blocking roads in many places.
Nearly a dozen towns and more than 1,400 villages in six districts were hit by power outages, state officials said.
More than 10,000 people died when Andhra Pradesh was struck by its worst cyclone in 1977.
The storm plunged a large swath of coastal Andhra Pradesh state into darkness when it hit on Thursday.
It was packing winds of 100 kilometers per hour. The storm made landfall near Bapatla, about 400 kilometers southeast of Hyderabad, and waves as high as 3 meters lashed the coast.
Even before the cyclone hit, some parts of the state had received up to 32 centimeters of rain.
Officials said at least 23 people have died since Wednesday. At least 55 fishermen were reported missing, although authorities had ordered fishing vessels to remain in port.
State welfare agencies evacuated more than 50,000 people from low-lying villages ahead of the storm.
The latest deaths included four people killed in a landslide near the city of Vijaywada late on Thursday night, state revenue minister Dharmana Prasad Rao said.
Another four deaths were reported in nearby Nellore, Guntur, and Prakasham districts.
Strong winds uprooted trees, power lines and billboards, blocking roads in many places.
Nearly a dozen towns and more than 1,400 villages in six districts were hit by power outages, state officials said.
More than 10,000 people died when Andhra Pradesh was struck by its worst cyclone in 1977.
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