Summary 200 kph speed cyclone poses danger to stretch of coastline in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.
NEW DELHI (AFP) - A very severe cyclone made landfall on India s east coast Saturday with wind speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour, an official said.
"Very severe cyclone Phailin has just started crossing the coast near Gopalpur. The reported wind speed is 200 kph," L.S. Rathore, the director general of the Indian Meteorological Office, told reporters in New Delhi.
Rathore said that the cyclone posed a danger to a 150-kilometre (around 95 miles) stretch of coastline in the states of Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring Orissa state.
"From Gopalpur to Paradip there are gale winds," he said at a late night press conference. "It (the danger zone) will be around 150 kilometres."
More than half a million people living in low-lying coastal areas of the two states had already been evacuated ahead of the cyclone s arrival.
"Very severe cyclone Phailin has just started crossing the coast near Gopalpur. The reported wind speed is 200 kph," L.S. Rathore, the director general of the Indian Meteorological Office, told reporters in New Delhi.
Rathore said that the cyclone posed a danger to a 150-kilometre (around 95 miles) stretch of coastline in the states of Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring Orissa state.
"From Gopalpur to Paradip there are gale winds," he said at a late night press conference. "It (the danger zone) will be around 150 kilometres."
More than half a million people living in low-lying coastal areas of the two states had already been evacuated ahead of the cyclone s arrival.
