As predicted by India Meteorological Department, Cyclone Helen made landfall today near the city of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh at around 13:30 local time.
So far the storm has affected the coastal districts of Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna and West and East Godavari. Buildings and crops have been damaged, and trees have been uprooted as wind of up to 120kmh struck. Around 50,000 people have been evacuated from the districts of Krishna and West Godavari. Sadly, an initial report claims that there have already been as many as 10 deaths as a result of the storm.
There are currently 6 teams of the National Disaster Response Force working in the area, as well as 450 personnel of the State Disaster Management Force. in Krishna district, as many as 130 relief camps have been set up.
The intensity of Cyclone Helen is predicted to subside about 6 hours after it first made landfall. There have been some areas hit by heavy rainfall, and this is expected to continue for at least the next 24 hours. With this in mind, the state government of Andhra Pradesh has issued flood alerts and warnings for vulnerable districts, in particular warning those in low-lying areas of possible flash floods, especially around rivers and drainage canals. Perhaps we are seeing a reaction to some of the lesson learned from Cyclone Phailin, where so much of the warning and relief efforts were concentrated on evacuation away from the storm, but little was done to warn people of the flooding that was to come in its wake. As many as 30 people died in Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal in the floods that came after Cyclone Phalin.
