India rebuilds after cyclone Phailin
Tuesday, October 15, 2013, 7:17 PM -
In India, people are returning home to survey the damage after cyclone Phailin pounded the east coast.
The powerful storm killed at least 21 people, but authorities say the toll could have been much, much worse.
Hurricanes are known as cyclones in the Indian Ocean, and the wind speed made it equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane.
India evacuated more than a half-million people in advance of the storm, in the hopes of avoiding a repetition of what happened 1999, when a cyclone claimed 10,000 lives. It's the largest evacuation the country has ever issued.
"We have taken a zero-casualty approach," said Odisha state disaster manager Kamal Lochan Mishra. "If people do not move, force will be used to evacuate them."
Phailin brought more than 50 mm of rain Saturday to parts of the coast, according to the India Meteorological Department. Some of the heaviest rain was falling Saturday night in Bhubaneswar, about 50 km from the coast.
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