Cyclone Phailin: Over 5 Lakh evacuated in Odisha and Andhra, 5 killed

At least 10 flights of Air India, Indigo and Jet Airways scheduled to arrive or take off from the airport here remained cancelled, director of Biju Patnaik International Airport Sarad Kumar told PTI.



The government braced for the deadly cyclone, the strongest since the one in 1999 that wreaked havoc in Odisha, leaving at least 9,000 people dead.

“Our main focus is to avoid loss of human life. So far we have evacuated 4.25 lakh people in Odisha and 1 lakh more in Andhra Pradesh,” Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami told reporters in Delhi.

Most of the evacuated people have been sheltered in 500 specially-built cyclone camps in the two states. Each cyclone shelter can accommodate up to 1,500 people while their ground floors may be used as cattle shelters.

Met officials said the impact of cyclone Phailin would be highest during the night and gradually come down from dawn.