300,000 Evacuated as Strong Cyclone Hits Eastern India

New Delhi: A powerful cyclone crashed against the eastern coast of India close to noon Sunday, uprooting trees, lashing the area with heavy rain and wind, and disrupting power and communication lines.

Close to 300,000 people were evacuated from their homes in parts of the states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh as of Sunday evening, according to disaster and relief officials in each state. One of the worst-hit regions was the coast of Andhra Pradesh, where more than 130,000 people were evacuated starting Saturday in preparation for the storm, and where the 15-mile eye of the storm passed Sunday afternoon. The storm, which is called Cyclone Hudhud, hit the southern port city of Visakhapatnam, where there is a major naval base.

"There is huge damage," said N. Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, in a telephone interview with the Indian news channel NDTV. "Even to buildings, trees and also crops. Communication has totally collapsed."

The Japanese island of Okinawa was also hit by a powerful typhoon, Vongfong, on Sunday. The typhoon was expected by Monday to fully reach the island of Kyushu, Japan, becoming the second severe storm to hit in a week, according to The Associated Press. At least 35 people were reported injured in Okinawa and Kyushu, where the authorities told 150,000 people to evacuate as the typhoon toppled trees, flooded streets and cut power to more than 60,000 homes. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the typhoon could reach the Tokyo area Tuesday, gradually losing strength as it moves up the archipelago.

In India, officials with the Indian Meteorological Department said to NDTV that the winds from the cyclone were about 121 mph, earning a "very severe" cyclone designation, but that within six hours, the winds would diminish by half, reducing it to a cyclone. Six hours after that, officials said, winds would further weaken by half, making it a "depression" by midnight.

At least two people in Andhra Pradesh were killed in the storm - one man who was hit by a felled tree and one woman who was crushed by a collapsing wall, according to A.R. Sukumar, the state's disaster management commissioner. Three more people were killed in Odisha. On Saturday, an overloaded government evacuation boat capsized in the state after it hit a tree trunk, drowning a 6-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy, according to P.K. Mohapatra, the special relief commissioner in the state. A fisherman rescuing his boat at midnight Saturday was also killed.

There was a brief lull in the storm in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday afternoon as the eye of the cyclone moved over the land, but officials warned residents not to think that the storm had passed, and winds increased again to close to their initial levels.

Arvind Kumar, an officer on special duty for disaster management who was posted to the city of Visakhapatnam for the storm, said that evacuations were taking place against the will of many residents, some of whom preferred to brave the storm and stay in their homes. Often in the event of severe weather, the worst affected are the area's very poor, many of whom live in makeshift homes.

Sanyasamma, 82, who goes by one name, was holed up in her home in the nearby city of Vizianagaram with her children and grandchildren. She was also providing shelter to a few locals who had evacuated their small huts in favor of her larger brick home.

"I have never seen this much rain in my entire life," she said.

V. Raghu, 39, who works with an engineering firm in Afghanistan, came home to tend to his ailing father in Visakhapatnam during the storm. He was with his father in a hospital, and worried that the power would go out at any moment and that they would soon run out of water if the storm did not stop.

"The whole city is hiding in their homes," he said.

The Indian Meteorological Department predicted that the tide would surge from 3 to 6 feet above its natural level when the cyclone hit, and advised at least six districts in Andhra Pradesh to suspend fishing operations.

The state authorities had closed the Visakhapatnam port, railroad station and national highways Saturday in preparation for the storm.

India's eastern coast is often hit by cyclones at this time of year. Last October, Cyclone Phailin resulted in 800,000 evacuations but few deaths, evidence, officials have said, of the increased preparedness of the Indian government and locals. More than 10,000 people were killed 15 years ago when a cyclone hit roughly the same area, but in the intervening time, physical infrastructure and communication lines have improved significantly in the country, aiding evacuation efforts.