Crews are assessing the damage and looking for survivors after a powerful cyclone stormed across India’s eastern coast. The cyclone was said to be one of the worst to hit the region in decades. Eight people are now reported dead, but officials say mass evacuations likely saved countless lives. NPR writes:
The cyclone’s effects were felt more than 500 miles away, on Mt. Everest. “Mountaineers were climbing to lower camps after conditions at higher elevations worsened,” as NPR’s Sushmita Pathak reports from Mumbai.
Fani made landfall at about 8 a.m. local time Friday in the state of Odisha near Puri, a city that’s a popular tourist destination on the Bay of Bengal. As it neared land, the India Meteorological Department reported the cyclone had wind speeds of about 130 miles per hour and gusts of up to 139 miles per hour.
“More than a million people have been moved to shelters in the eastern Indian state of Odisha alone,” Pathak says.
India and Bangladesh evacuated massive amounts of people ahead of Cyclone #Fani. It seems to have worked, with few deaths reported so far compared to past storms that killed thousands. The US could learn a lot from India’s 0 fatality goal. https://t.co/U4QXrJNU4Z
— Andrew Freedman (@afreedma) May 3, 2019
The Washington Post compiled some video of the storm and damage. Take a look above.