A look at the devastation caused by  Cyclone Hudhud reaches the port city of Visakhapatnam  in the port city of Visakhapatnam

Damage caused by Cyclone Hudhud in Visakhapatnam

The airport of the coastal city bore the biggest brunt of the cyclone. The airport’s roof was blown off with a huge pile of rubble left in the wake of the cyclone. The airport has been shut down for repairs with flight operations unlikely to resume for a week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Vizag and will make an aerial survey of the cyclone-affected districts.

Damage caused by Cyclone Hudhud in Visakhapatnam 

Making landfall at nearly 200 km/h and a minimum central pressure of 960 mbar (28.35 inHg) Cyclone Hudhud wreaked havoc on the picturesque coastal town of Vishakhapatnam on Sunday leaving nothing but destruction in its wake

Fifteen people have reportedly been killed in Visakhapatnam, taking the death toll of the total number of casualties of the cyclone to 24 on Tuesday.

A petrol pump damaged after hit by Hudhud Cyclone in Vishakapatnam on Monday.

Despite assurances by the government that fuel supplies were enough to last at least 15 days, long queues could be seen outside petrol pumps as people bought petrol and diesel -- the latter can also be used for generator sets.

The coastal city ever since has been covered with sights of uprooted trees, knocked down telephone poles and debris of ruined buildings.

Visakhapatnam, or Vizag as it’s popularly know, is home to nearly two million people. The cyclone has rendered thousands in the cyclone-affected districts homeless. Nearly seven lakh people in the state of Andhra Pradesh have been evacuated.

According to media reports, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister N Chinarajappa said that nearly 90,000 people have been shifted to relief camps in four Cyclone Hudhud-hit districts.

With nearly 80% of its green cover gone, the town that has been left battered and bruised after the disaster,  now faces the daunting task of rebuilding itself.

Named by Oman using the the Arabic word for the bird Hoopoe, the cyclone reached its peak just before making landfall near Visakhapatnam's coast.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), The Indian Army and Indian Navy personnel were deployed to oversee rescue operations even before the cyclone made landfall on the east coast.  

Disaster preparedness in the country has improved in recent times with the example of Cyclone Phailin, the second-strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Indian coast, that saw evacuation of more than 550,000 people on time.