Cyclone Hudhud brings back memories of last year's Phailin

It was exactly a year ago that Cyclone Phailin, comparable to the magnitude of Cyclone Hudhud, hit the north coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh leaving two dead and heavy loss of crops.

Over a lakh of people were evacuated from Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh prior to Cyclone Phailin.

Though it was initially expected that Cyclone Phailin would hit the coast at Srikakulam, it changed its course and hit Odisha triggering heavy rains and floods which marooned some parts of coastal districts of that state.

More than 2.5 lakh people were reportedly marooned in Odisha as a result of heavy rains and floods due to Cyclone Phailin which claimed the lives of 30 people in various rain-related incidents.

According to a senior official of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), data of the past 100 years shows formation of depressions in Bay of Bengal during October-November which moving towards the north and northwest direction, hitting coastal parts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

"The cyclone normally occurs after the northeast monsoon is over in India. If the depression occurs during November it is most likely to hit the Bangladesh coast. If it happens during the October-November period it is most likely to hit the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha," the official told PTI.

Over a lakh of people from low-lying areas of coastal districts in Andhra Pradesh have been evacuated after the state intensified preparations to face Cyclone Hudhud, which is expected to reach the northern coastline around Visakhapatnam by forenoon tomorrow.