More than 50,000 evacuated in southern India as region braces for worst cyclone in 14 years

Indian state braces for fierce storm; 15 killed

HYDERABAD, India — Cyclone Laila slammed into the south Indian coast on Thursday, battering the region with heavy rains and winds up to 90 kilometers (55 miles) per hour, and uprooting trees and electric lines, officials said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said that the cyclone appeared to be weakening, though it still could cause widespread damage. The state had evacuated more than 50,000 people as it braced for its worst storm in 14 years.

Heavy rains and strong winds killed at least 15 people over the past 24 hours, including four workers when an industrial workshop collapsed because of heavy rain, authorities said. At least 55 fishermen were reported missing.

Even before the cyclone hit, some parts of the state had been hit by up to 1 foot (32 centimeters) of rain, officials said.

Along the state’s coastal districts, officials ordered fishing vessels to stay in port, Rosaiah said.

“We are fully geared to face this natural calamity,” he said before the cyclone hit.

More than 50,000 people were moved from coastal and low-lying villages into temporary shelters in schools and government buildings, said state revenue minister Dharmana Prasad Rao. The state administration has identified 800 villages as vulnerable and were evacuating people before the cyclone hits, he said.

The state government set up control rooms in the nine coastal districts to coordinate any rescue missions, and helicopters and buses were on standby to evacuate more areas and deliver relief supplies, he said.

Strong winds uprooted trees, power lines and billboards, blocking off roads in many places. At least six districts were hit by power outages and hundreds of villages were in darkness for more than 10 hours.

Authorities on Wednesday decided to open 120 relief camps in Machlipatanam, a town considered to be the likely cyclone landfall point, said Piyush Kumar, the district administrator.

Kumar said people were being moved to high ground from 83 villages in the area, about 215 miles (350 kilometers) east of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state.

Waves as high as 8 feet (2 meters) could lash the coast, the state meteorological office warned.

More than 10,000 people died when Andhra Pradesh was struck by its worst cyclone in 1977.