The terrifying word ‘Cyclone’ has been derived from the Greek word ‘Cyclos’ meaning coil of a snake. As tropical storms in the Indian seas resemble coiled serpents of the sea, these storms were named as Cyclones. Tropical cyclones are referred to as Hurricanes over Atlantic Ocean, Typhoons over Pacific Ocean, Willy-Willies over Australian Seas and Cyclones over north Indian Ocean.
The present cyclonic storm Hudhud is likely to become a severe cyclonic storm very soon. The first storm of the season to make landfall in India could also strengthen further into a very severe cyclonic storm.
Phailin was the strongest tropical cyclone that ever made landfall in India, behind only the Odisha Cyclone which ripped through the state in 1999. Phailin had lashed Gopalpur in Ganjam district of Odisha, with strong winds blowing at about 200- 220 kmph at landfall. In its wake, Phailin brought torrential rains in Odisha and north coastal Andhra Pradesh, leaving behind a trail of destruction after making landfall on October 12, 2013.
Prior to 2000, there was no practice of naming tropical storms. The 1999 cyclonic storm which ripped Odisha, triggered the necessity of naming storms. The practice of naming helps in quick identification of storms because names are presumed to be far easier to remember than numbers and technical terms.
Here’s a look at the other four devastating cyclones to make landfall in India-
| Year | Category of Cyclone | Landfall | Other relevant information |
| October 25-31, 1999 | Super Cyclonic Storm | The storm crossed Odisha coast near Paradip on 29th afternoon. | The storm had attained maximum wind speed of 260 kmph. The storm had claimed around 10,000 lives and immense damage to crops and cattle heads. |
| November 5-6, 1996 | Very Severe Cyclonic Storm | Made landfall in Andhra coast near Kakinada at midnight of November 6. | With maximum wind speed of 200 kmph, the storm surged up to 4 m. |
| May 4-11, 1990 | Super Cyclonic Storm | Crossed Andhra Pradesh coast at about 40 km southwest of Machilipatnam at 1900 IST on May 9. | The storm sustained wind speed of 102 kmph near Machilipatnam and 93 kmph at Gannavaram. It had attained maximum wind speed of 235 kmph. |
| November 14-20, 1977 | Super Cyclonic Storm | Made landfall at Nizampatnam in Andhra coast at 1730 IST on November 19. | The storm has attained maximum wind speed of 260 kmph and caused immense damage to life and property. Estimated damage to crops and other property was around Rs. 350 crores. |
