Skymet weather

Cyclone Hudhud to weaken into low pressure in next 24 hours

Cyclone Story imgCyclone Hudhud had crossed Bheemunipatnam - close to Visakhapatnam - at around 12.30 pm on Sunday, causing large scale destruction in the area due to strong winds. Maximum sustained winds at the time of crossing the Andhra Pradesh coast was between 170 and 180 kmph, gusting to 195 kmph.

Cyclone Hudhud after making landfall on Sunday moved northwestward and continued as a cyclonic storm for more than 12 hours, which generally is not the case. Cyclones after making landfall fail to maintain their storm characteristics for a very long time and weaken rapidly

But Hudhud's affect could be seen till late evening, in form of strong winds. Places like Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Gopalpur in Odisha observed powerful winds for more than six hours.

The cyclone also caused heavy rain in the region. Anakapalle in Andhra Pradesh received a whopping 181 mm of rain in 24 hours, from 8.30 am on Sunday. Kalingapatnam and Kakinada observed 66.7 mm and 30.6 mm of rain, respectively. 76.3 mm of rain was observed in Tuni.

In Odisha, Koraput received 89 mm of rain, Parbani 50 mm, Cuttack 61.4 mm and Bhubaneswar recorded 40.6 mm of rain. Rain in Gopalpur was 6.4 mm, Puri 9.5 mm, and Paradip 10.8 mm due to their distance from the landfall area in Andhra Pradesh. However, strong winds of over 100 kmph were witnessed in these areas till late evening.

Currently, the cyclone lies as a depression close to Raipur in Chhattisgarh. It will continue to move further northward and weaken into a low pressure area in another 24 hours, over Bihar and east Uttar Pradesh. This will lead to some good rain in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and east Uttar Pradesh.

 

 

 

Relief and Rehabilitation priority in Visakhapatnam

1_650_101114071525 CroppedState government and relief work step up in Hudhud hit Visakhapatnam as the city grapples to return to normalcy after being wrecked by the severe Cyclone Hudhud.

Even as Odisha escaped the cyclone fury, heavy rain caused by Cyclone Hudhud has battered Visakhapatnam, the port city of Andhra Pradesh.

Eight people have been reported dead, as nearly 4 lakh people have been evacuated from the coastal districts in the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

Travelling at 120 kmph, Cyclone Hudhud made a landfall at Visakhapatnam on Sunday afternoon, leaving the port city without power supply.

Transport services have been halted, while flights have also been disrupted. Communication systems have collapsed at many places.

One of the two severe storms to hit Asia this weekend, Cyclone Hudhud ripped across huge swathes of India's eastern coast on Sunday - bringing heavy rain and strong winds that caused major damage to buildings and crops.

Rains accompanied by gusty wind continued in several parts of south Odisha including Malkangiri district and according to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, wind speed would gradually decrease.

 

 

Typhoon Vongfong makes landfall in Makurazaki, 52 injured

Typhoon VonfongPowerful typhoon Vongfong made landfall in Japan mainland on Monday morning, however with considerably weaker winds. According to Japan Meteorological Agency, Vongfong had hit the city of Makurazaki on Kyushu island as a minimal typhoon, with maximum sustained winds of 180 kmph.

With this, there is a threat of torrential rainfall in large parts of Japan over the next couple of days. As per the latest update, the center of Vongfong had reached the southwestern tip of Shikoku, one of Japan's four main islands. However, the wind speed has tailed off to 65 mph, which makes Vongfong a tropical storm now.

Around 52 people were injured, while one has been reported to be missing in separate typhoon related incidents. National carrier, Japan Airlines has cancelled more than 300 flights.

Smashing winds uprooted trees and electricity poles, while huge waves were smashing into breakwaters. Television footage showed the roof and walls of several houses being ripped off by gusts in Makurazaki.

Vongfong is now moving in a east-northeast direction at a speed of over 20 mph but its forward motion will continue to accelerate over the next day or two.

Prior to making landfall in mainland, Vongfong had hit the islands of Kadena and Okinawa on October 10, as a super typhoon. Though maximum sustained winds had tailed off lightly, but were still estimated at 150 mph, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane.

Earlier on October 7, Vongfong had intensified into the strongest tropical cyclone of 2014 after growing rapidly overnight on October 6. According to Joint Typhoon Warning Center, USA, maximum sustained winds had reached its peak at 180 mph, which is equivalent to a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. With this, Vongfong had become the fifth super typhoon of 2014

The typhoon came just a week after another strong tropical storm lashed the country, leaving 11 people dead or missing.

Picture courtesy: Reuters







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