CYCLONE PHAILINE HITS EAST INDIA

The indian government issued a red alert two days ago on the approach of the cyclone  Phailin.
Presently, Cyclone Phailin has made landfall on the east coast of India, an official said, with winds of up to 200km an hour forcing almost 450,000 people to flee and threatening to devastate farmland and fishing hamlets.
Phailin, which gathered speed on Saturday, has the potential to be the strongest storm to hit the area in 14 years.
The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii forecast maximum sustained winds of 269kph with gusts up to 315kph.
Satellite images showed the cyclone filling nearly the entire Bay of Bengal, an area larger than France.
The government is presently evacuating thousands of people from the lowly areas.


UPDATE: INDIA ASSESS CYCLONE PHAILINE DAMAGE; Few deaths reported so far but wide destruction of crops and infrastructure in two eastern states.


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