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Death toll rises in Cyclone Phailin aftermath

Sunday, October 13, 2013, 10:13 AM -

The death toll in the wake of Cyclone Phailin has risen to 17 as of 8 a.m. Sunday morning.

The storm is the largest to hit India since 1999, and has likely caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage to crops and structures.

But while the death toll is likely to rise, it is not expected to reach anywhere near the 10,000 fatalities that were caused by a 1999 cyclone that caught the country off guard.

Officials are crediting extensive preparations -- including the evacuation of more than a million people -- with the comparatively lower death toll.

The Associated Press reports power had been restored to parts of the city of Gopalpur, which bore the brunt of Phailin's landfall.

Gopalpur, where #Phailin made landfall. But if anything damage worse inland towards Berhampur pic.twitter.com/sodOeF2OyG

— Andrew North (@NorthAndrew) October 13, 2013

Although the storm surge was large, and there was significant coastal damage, reports say the town's mermaid statue remains standing, as do several decorative street lamps.

The storm claimed at least one ship, a cargo vessel that sank Saturday, but its crew of 18 were rescued the next day.

While the storm lost power rapidly after coming ashore, local forecasters are warning of strong winds and heavy rain along parts of the east coast for at least another day.

The cyclone is believed to have boasted winds of more than 300 km/h, possibly the strongest tropical storm winds ever recorded on Earth, although there's some debate over whether that means Phailin was the strongest storm ever.

See more of the storm's effects in the latest episode of Force of Nature.

With files from the Associated Press.