Cyclone Titli built landfall closer to Gopalpur in Odisha’s Ganjam district initial Thursday morning, accompanied with wind speeds that reached up to 126 kmph. Coastal and adjacent interior regions in Odisha received heavy rainfall and will continue to do so. Northern Andhra Pradesh has been affected too, albeit not as severely as coastal Odisha.
High speed winds have caused damage to kuchha houses, trees and electricity poles have been uprooted, officials said. Heavy rainfall is expected to continue till Friday before dampening as the storm moves North and Northeastward. Over 3 lakh people have been evacuated and warning signals to fishermen were issued. On Wednesday, Titli was upgraded to a ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ category, one that would be accompanied by winds with surface speeds of up to 145 kmph.
Bay of Bengal and the Odisha coastline is no stranger to severe category cyclonic storms though. Superstorms like Phailin, Hudhud and the infamous 1999 Odisha cyclone have lashed the region in the past, taking thousands lives and uprooting countless homes.
Hudhud was ‘extremely severe’ category cyclonic storm that hit the Eastern coastline of India in October 2014. It originated from a low pressure system caused by upper-air cyclonic circulation in the Andaman sea. The storm made landfall near Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, with wind speeds reaching up to 185 kmph. The storm then turned toward North, crossing Odhisha, Uttar Pradesh before it reached Nepal. These regions received heavy rainfall, while Nepal received heavy snowfall. Hudhud triggered avalanches in Nepal and the region underwent a snowstorm disaster that lead to the deaths of at least 43 people.
In India, Andhra Pradesh was affected severely. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) ad made preparations for the storm’s landfall and several trains along the East coast of India were cancelled. The cyclone first passed through Andaman islands gaining intensity and before it made landfall in Andhra, nine districts were already on high alert. The heavy rainfall and strong winds in coastal Andhra claimed three lives just after landfall at Visakhapatnam. A total of 61 people lost their lives in Andhra Pradesh in the cyclone.
