TORONTO – Tropical Cyclone Phailin – about half the size of India – continues to strengthen as it heads toward that country’s eastern coast.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Phailin is located about 824 km from Calcutta, India. Satellite imagery showed that the cyclone has undergone “rapid intensification” over the last 12 hours.
The warm waters in the Bay of Bengal – about 29 C – will help to further intensify it, presenting extremely dangerous conditions for residents along the coast.
Maximum sustained winds are approximately 185 km/h, with gusts of up to 231 km/h, the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans.
By Saturday, Phailin will be packing winds of 203 km/h with gusts of 305 km/h. Storm surges and floods are of major concern with a storm of this intensity.
According to news reports out of India, the government in Odisha is preparing for Phailin’s arrival, deploying the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force to districts likely to be severely affected by the storm.
In 1999, the region experienced the deadliest and costliest storm in India’s history. Referred to as the Odisha Cyclone (named Paradwip), the storm killed more than 10,000 people and caused billions in damage.
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