Some 300,000 people have been evacuated from their homes after the powerful and deadly cyclone Hudhud made landfall on the coast of eastern India Sunday.
BBC: "The cyclone has caused wide spread damage to Andhra Pradesh and Odisha states. ... And it's feared that a storm surge of up to two meters could inundated low lying areas. So far 6 people have been killed."
THE WEATHER CHANNEL: "The structures here in this part of the world, not going to be very well built. And so you have those exposed structures."
According to Indian officials, the cyclone made landfall with wind gusts up to 120 mph. One businessman staying in a local hotel said it was terrifying, describing it as sounding like explosions.
AL JAZEERA: "Here you can see the darkest swirl there, there's the center of the storm. It has now made landfall and so we've seen the worst the storm has to offer."
But Sky News obtained an exclusive interview from India's NDTV where one official explains, even though the worst of the storm has passed, the after effects will still be fierce.
"There's a proactive state government, so the loss of life of life will be minimal. But then the lost of crops, the loss of properties. All these things, they're bound to be dead. This is a national calamity."
There's also been damage to roadways and electricity lines, hampering communication efforts.
This is the time of year India is most vulnerable to being hit by cyclones. In 1999 the same area was hit,and more than 10,000 people were killed.
But ramped up preparation by the Indian government has helped locals become better aware of necessary precautions. An estimated 800,000 people where evacuated last October after Cyclone Phailin hit the east coast but there were few deaths. (Video via NDTV)
Of the 1.2 billion people who live in India, Hudhud could in some way impact about a third of them.
