North Bengal, Sikkim safe from Cyclone Hudhud : Met expert

EOI,, Siliguri, 9 Oct 2014: Cyclone Hudhud may be leaving a trail of devastation in its wake, but north Bengal and Sikkim are safe from the dangers posed by it, the weatherman has predicted. 

Eminent meteorologist Gopinath Raha told this agency over the telephone on Thursday: “Usually when a cyclone hits land, it rains a lot, but it is improbable that Cyclone Hudhud will have any impact on north Bengal and Sikkim unless it changes direction, which again is a remote possibility. 

Hudhud is a strong cyclone heading towards the southern coast of the country has gathered strength, uprooting trees, triggering landslides and snapping power and phone lines as it crossed the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, a Met official has said. 

The India Meteorological Department has predicted that Cyclone Hudhud, named after a colourful bird, is likely to pick speeds of up to 140km per hour when it landfalls between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur on Sunday. 

It is now crossing the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the IMD said in a bulletin. 

Thereafter the cyclone will continue to move west–northwestwards, intensifying further into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 24 and 36 hours. Authorities in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are on high alert with the cyclone bearing down on their respective coasts exactly a year after a similar cyclone battered Odisha.

On October 12, Cyclone Phailin moved over roughly the same stretch of water in Odisha. It claimed 44 lives, but India’s efforts at implementing emergency preparedness plans were lauded as an overwhelming success globally. More than a million people were evacuated ahead of Cyclone Phailin. Met department officials have said Cyclone Hudhud is expected to be less intense compared to Cyclone Phailin, but disaster management preparations are on full swing in both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.