'Phailin' leaves trail of destruction in India
Hundreds of thousands of people who fled India's strongest cyclone in 14 years have returned home to scenes of devastation as a massive relief operation gets underway.
The strongest in years
Cyclone Phailin pounded the Indian states of Orissa and to a lesser extent Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, bringing winds of more than 200 kilometers per hour (125 mph), killing at least 25 people, uprooting trees, overturning trucks, and knocking out power lines.
Largest-ever evacuation
The low number of casualties stands in contrast to the 10,000 killed by Orissa's last big cyclone in 1999. The building of hundreds of shelters since, coupled with mass evacuations - days before the storm made landfall - minimized loss of life. Around one million people spent the night huddled in shelters, temples and schools, in what officials said was India's largest ever evacuation operation.
Rescue efforts in full swing
Indian authorities deployed helicopters and transport aircraft to help supply food, water and medical supplies to those in need. Other relief workers distributed food at shelters like this one and treated the injured, while the government worked to restore power and other services.
Immense costs
Despite the low death toll, the economic impact is expected to be immense. Heavy rains and surging seawater destroyed more than 500,000 hectares (1.23 million acres) of crops worth an estimated 24 billion rupees (USD 395 million), according to Orissa's minister for disaster management S. N. Patro.
Scenes of devastation
The people affected, many of whom are poor fishermen and farmers, started making their way back to their towns and villages, fearing the worst.
Thousands left homeless
The Indian Red Cross said its initial assessments showed that over 235,000 mud-and-thatch homes had been destroyed in Orissa's Ganjam district alone. The organization expects thousands of people to need help in coming days, as there are growing concerns about the health and sanitation needs.
A cyclone hot spot
With some of the world's warmest waters, the Indian Ocean is a cyclone hot spot, and 27 of the 35 deadliest known storms in history - including the 1999 cyclone - have come through the Bay of Bengal and landed in either India or Bangladesh.