Motorcyclist drives past fallen trees during heavy rain and winds near Gopalpur beach in Ganjam district
Broken glass pieces, wood shreds and asbestos sheets flew like killer projectiles in these two adjoining cities, moments after the severe cyclone 'Phailin' slammed into Gopalpur beach. (
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The roads in these twin cities were empty as strong wind howled across hitting closed doors and windows of the houses deserted by the locals.
People living in Berhampur, the largest town in Ganjam district, jostled in one corner of residential buildings as even concrete structures shook by the combined battering of winds and heavy rains.
Many vehicles in Berhampore toppled by the effect of the strong winds about 45 minutes after the land fall of the cyclone.
Both the cities were running on power backups and you could hear the screams of terrified women and children.
"We just wish the cyclone effect passes out soon...it is very frightful," Ramesh Pattnaik, who runs a hotel in Berhampore told PTI.
People staying in houses and hotels prayed and sought divine intervention to end the gusty winds which have tossed everything making them objects of critical injury.