In Andhra Pradesh, the districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, East and West Godavari as well as Vishakhapatnam experienced high speed winds and heavy rainfall. People from hundreds of villages along the coast have already been evacuated. According to current reports, the severity of the cyclone is expected to be the same, if not more than the one which devastated the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh in 1996. Representatives of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Churches have already reported severe damages in Srikakulam district. More information will be available once contact is re-established with the Church organisations in the affected region.
Preliminary reports indicate that the winds have stopped but the rain continues.
RAT members from Midnapore in West Bengal, have given similar reports. With the rains still continuing, travel is difficult and many villages are inaccessible. Hence, team members have only been able to visit some of the easily accessible villages. For the West Bengal districts, the situation could be serious as this disaster follows on the heels of the heavy rains and widespread floods experienced during the last week of September from which people are yet to recover. In this regard, Appeal ASIN94 was issued on 6 October to enable ACT members, CASA and LWF-India to undertake emergency relief measures in the flood affected areas of West Bengal and Bihar.